Karen

Karen is a five piece band whose two guitar players are Art-School members (front man/guitarist Riki Kinoshita and guitarist Masafumi Todaka) and whose rhythm section is made up of two former Downy members. Singer Achiko provides the contrast to all that arty/indie testosterone with her mild, crooning vocal style.

Obviously something of a side-project due to the fact that Art-School is still quite active, the band nevertheless manages to produce solid releases with a sound independent from that of its Frankenstein's Monster origins. Sure, some of the guitar tones and playing can echo that of Art-School's dreamy, indie, emo-rock sound and Riki's occasional backing vocals only serve to amplify that echo, but Karen's overall vibe is much more suave and contemporary. It's obvious that the band knows how to pound out a song, but in Karen they all fall back a bit, instead simply keeping things very tight and stripped down. Given the chance, the band does toss in some tricky rhythms and the production is generally louder and more raw than on any regular AAA release. You can lead a horse to water and all that...

They also mix things up with a few lines of saxophone, oboe and other instruments rarely seen in your typical rock set-up. The atmosphere is extremely hazy and reverbed-out, a nod to the heavily effected shoegazy sounds of early '90s groups like Mazzy Star and The Sundays. The songs themselves follow suit, being generally slow and subtle. Achiko often lets her voice ring out for what seems like ages, with nary a waver or wobble in her crystalline tone.

One final note. While the name Karen could be thought of as the Japanese word "かれん" pronounced "kah-ren," looking at their almost exclusively English song and album names, it would seem to be more likely that it is simply meant to be pronounced as "care-en." Though that could be incorrect and any insight would be appreciated.

BUY KAREN RELEASES HERE

"Lorraine"



MySpace

Members:
Achiko - Vocals
Kinoshite Riki - Guitar
Todaka Masafumi - Guitar
Nakamata Kazuhiro - Bass
Akiyama Takahiki - Drums

Albums:
Maggot in Tears - 2008
Sunday Girl in Silence - 2009

"Marine"

Vola & The Oriental Machine

Vola & The Oriental Machine is the spin-off group formed by former Number Girl drummer Ahito Inazawa, who also played drums in Zazen Boys, a band formed by Number Girl front man Mukai Shutoku after Number Girl broke up in 2002.

Vola is something of a super-group, featuring former Downy guitarist Aoki Yutaka (who has since left Vola to play in his own band Unkie), drummer Nakahata Daiki from Syrup16g and Arie Yoshinori on bass. All of these expert players combine to form the Vola super-robot. Shedding Number Girl's and Zazen Boys' more erratic, complex and noisy sound, Vola hones its blade to a sharp edge, slicing the air instead of pummeling it. Their songs are pure and to the point, yet intricate and deep. Mostly straight-up rock, they tend to be danceable and driving, with relatively simple drum lines (at least when compared to Inazawa's previous bands) in lock-step with the bass.

Inazawa (who plays guitar and sings, by the way) at times sounds a bit like Sawao Yamanaka from The Pillows, at least when he's actually trying to sing. So much so that when I first heard Vola I had to double check to make sure I didn't get something wrong. Vola is like a very intense and dangerous version of The Pillows. While their songs are often anthemic and soaring, they contain a dark and angry edge.

Much like Dave Grohl moving on from Nirvana to form The Foo Fighters, Ahito Inazawa has moved on from Number Girl to form Vola & The Oriental Machine. It's an apt comparison (if I may say so) and a testament to the huge amount of songwriting talent Vola & The Oriental Machine has to offer.

BUY VOLA & THE ORIENTAL MACHINE RELEASES HERE

An Imitation's Superstar



Official Site
MySpace

Members
Ahito Inazawa - Vocal, Guitar
Nakahata Daiki - Drums
Arie Yoshinori - Bass

Major Releases
Waiting for My Food (1-25-2006)
ANDROID -like a house mannequin (4-11-2007)
Halan'na-ca Darkside (10-08-2008)

羽根の光


A Communication Refusal Desire (Live)


Comeback In Darkness


Self-Defense

Sleepy.ab

Sleepy.ab is a sublime/morose showgaze band from Sapporo. Apparently the "ab" stands for "abstract," describing their floating, flowing soundscapes. Indeed they are a bit like a rock-oriented Sigur Ros, full of delicate, twinkling sounds and ethereal vocals, but with a solid band supporting it all. While overall they hold to the above themes, they do get rather heavy and dark at times, with the distortion pedals being kicked on and the drums crashing through. It's at these times when they are a bit like Downy or Eksperimentoj, two bands who also share similar light-but-heavy art-rock attributes. Sleepy.ab is certainly the more user friendly and pretty of the three, due mostly to their more optimistic feel. Much like Sigur Ros, even their upbeat songs could make you burst out into tears for the sheer beauty of them.

Melody



メリーゴーランド


Mass Gymnastic Display


夢の花+inside


Scene + Pain


丹青な庭 "devoted garden"


Live at Kraps Hall 2007.06.29 [1]


Live at Kraps Hall 2007.06.29 [2]


Live at Rising Sun Rock Festival 2006


Official Site
Official MySpace

Members
Tsuyoshi Nariyama : Vocal, Guitar
Kensuke Yamauchi : Guitar
Hideyuki Tanaka : Bass and backing vocal
Hideki Tsuha : Drums and backing vocal

Major Releases
Face the Music（2002/12/11）
Traveling Fair（2004/5/26）
Palette（2006/3/8）
Fantasia（2007/3/7）

Downy

Dark. Art. Rock. That's the best way I can think to describe Downy. At first, one might think of Radiohead, but then the massive, complex, looping rhythms tell you that this isn't any ordinary shoegazing group of guys. They are gloom machines churning out huge falling blocks of rusted metal and dusty empty rooms. Their fractured structures are as relentless as they are fragile, with Robin Aoki's desperate, thin voice piercing through it all. Their albums are all untitled, each one more distorted and angry than the last. The only light they use on stage comes from a single video projector that bathes the stage with its imagery. Unfortunately for us all, Downy broke up after releasing their fifth (live) album. At least they left behind some amazing albums, and some equally amazing videos.