Eastern Youth

Does it seem like a lot of Japanese band's bios start off with "Formed by childhood friends..." I know that every band I've been in has been started with/by friends, but I find it amazing that anyone can from a band at a young age, with other young friends, and manage to not only stick together, playing the same music for over twenty years, but also consistently produce amazing music. That's some hardcore dedication, and Eastern Youth has a hell of a lot of it.

Their musical style falls into the emo/screamo category, but with none of the limp, sniveling, pantie waist, fake trendiness of most emo bands. Eastern Youth is the real deal. Singer/guitarist Hisashi Yoshino's is constantly at risk of having his head to explode from the force of his vocal delivery. On the other hand, they have a sort of quiet earnestness that leads extra weight to their more restrained tracks. These guys mean business and they sound desperate to get the word out to everyone within range.

They don't fool around to fancy production or special sonic sound palettes. The Eastern Youth sound is guitar, bass, drums and vocals with no added ingredients or effects. This is something else that helps paint their landscape with bombed out buildings, run down cities and a rugged countryside. It's music of the people and for the people. They seem to embody the underground indie vibe, making it hard to imagine their music bring played anywhere but the smallest, sweatiest and beer-stained club full of rabid fans.

Hohaba to Taiyou, their new album in 2009, marks their 21st year together.

BUY EASTERN YOUTH RELEASES HERE

"Hakai Muzan Hachigatsu"




Official Site
MySpace

Members:
Hisashi Yoshino - Vocals, Guitar
Atsuya Tamori - Drums
Tomokazu Ninomiya - Bass

Albums:
East End Land - 1989
Time Is Running - 1990
For Skins and Punks EP - 1991
Eastern Youth - 1993
Kuchibue Yofuke-ni-Hibiku - 1995
Koritsumuen no Hana - 1997
Tabiji ni Kisetsu ga Moeochiru - 1998
Kumo Inuke Koe - 1999
Kanjusei Outouseyo - 2001
8 Teeth to Eat You - 2002
What Can You See From Your Place - 2003
Don Quijote - 2004
365歩のBlues - 2006
Blowing from the Other Side of the Earth - 2007
Hohaba to Taiyou - 2009

"Kakato Naru"


"Boiling Point 36 Degrees Celsius"


"Natsunohi no Gogo"

Emmie the Stripper

Emmie the Stripper is not a ska band, but they have a rockin' horn section. Emmie the Stripper is not a rock band, but they have some pretty loud guitars. Emmie the Stripper is not a pop band, but they have the poppiest, silkiest singer this side of Tsuji Ayano you're likely to find. So just what is Emmie the Stripper?

Well, they are a mish-mash of all those things mentioned above, mixed together with a lot of smiling faces and friendly good-times. While they most often seem to be filed under ska, that's a gross mistake. Yes, they have a horn section (just a trumpet and a sax, actually) but horns by themselves do not a ska band make. They are just an up-beat rock band with a horn section, end of story. They have a light, somewhat nostalgic feel from time to time. Singer Takao, as mentioned, sounds to me very much like Tsuji Ayano, only with a stronger voice and a pop-oriented delivery. It's more of a family-friendly, feel-good milk commercial vibe. Something used to sell wholesome kitchen products. They do rock from time to time, but it's almost always off-set by Takao's smooth voice and the rounded off edges to the guitars and drums. It's all very fuzzy and glowing, never harsh and sharp.

Unfortunately it would seem the the band has been inactive since 2004 which is when they released their last album Keys. This also means that clips of their music are tough to find, and videos are totally absent. That's too bad, because I have a feeling they would be very interesting to see live.

Listen to Emmie the Stripper here! | Order Emmie the Stripper releases here!



Official Site

Members
Takao - Vocals
Beni - Guitar
Kosaka - Bass
Yabu - Drums
Esu - Trumpet
Ai - Alto Sax

Releases
The Mile To Anywhere (2001)
Keys (2004)

Esrevnoc (エスレフノック)

Esrevnoc were one of those bands who seem to be bursting with possibilities, yet all too soon quietly fade away. An all girl trio, they blended Mittco Sky's extremely cute, chirpy vocals (think Halko Momoi, only even cuter) with her raw guitars, Tomomi Ocean's bass and Tsukada Sun's keyboards and drum machines, all slathered in a thick layer of three part vocal harmonies. All of their songs are also extremely catchy and poppy, whether they're soaringly happy or head-hangingly melancholy. While they (thankfully) never stray into self-indulgent experimentalism, they do mix up their sounds, sometimes rocking like a full on noisy punk band, other times a DIY bedroom electro-pop group, and then a groovy 60s-70s band straight out of Austin Powers. Whatever their chosen style, they take it on head-long and with a truck-load of indie-style.

Perhaps this wide range of styles was their undoing. Without a strong focus there was sure to be confusion as to what do do with them in the Sony offices. While bands with a similar structure, like Beck for instance, have become well accepted since the early 00s, Esrevnoc may have been a bit too converse way back in 1998. Last heard of in 2001, there is very little evidence of them remaining on the web. Their website is the equivalent of a still warm cup of coffee and piece of strawberry toast in a mysteriously empty room.

Sweet Strawberry Toast (fan vid using Idolm@ster)



Official Site

Members
Mittco Sky - Vocal, Guitar
Tomomi Ocean - Bass, Backing Vocal
Tsukada Sun - Keyboards, Backing Vocal

EB - Esrevnoc Better (1999/06/02)
Yes (2001/06/15)

Eufonius

Simply put, Eufonius are an anime band. For the past four years the duo of Hajime Kikuchi (music) and Riya (vocals) have created a large number of songs used in anime openings and endings, including those for Himawari!, Noein, and most recently Clannad. Their sound is a bit like that of Under17, only much more mellow and mature. Most of their songs are mid-tempo and light, with twinkling electronic backing tracks under soft, lilting vocals. They occasionally kick things up a notch or two for some fun pop songs, but for the most part they play it safe and soft.

BUT EUFONIUS RELEASES HERE!





Hajime Kikuchi - Music
Riya - Vocals

2007-01-31: Σ
2006-05-24: Subarashiki Sekai
2005-04-27: eufonius+
2003-10-11: eufonius

Ex-Girl

Wikipedia probably does the best job in explaining Ex-Girl, "They claim to hail from the planet Kero Kero. They are described as psychedelic, space rock, jazz fusion, jagged alternating vocal harmonies, sugary synthesizer pop, punk, prog, epic/atmospheric, noise-rock, wavering 3 part a capella, borderline operatic vocals, often in the space of a single song." The thing to focus on here is the three part, operatic vocals. It's easily their most distinguishing feature. Sure, their music is crazy and erratic, but it's their unique vocal construction that pushes them far over the top of many other groups. The huge colorful wigs don't hurt either. Whatever it is, Ex-Girl are something special. Certainly not for the average listener, even though the average listener could learn an awful lot from these three women.

Electric Eel Shock

Electric Eel Shock are a straight forward rock band. Rock as in ROCK!. As in classic rock from Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Led Zeplin etc. Fuzzed out guitars, big riffs, shout-along choruses, swaggering tempos etc. They've spent most of their time overseas both touring and recording, which probably explains why they sing in English. Their 2006 album "Beat Me" was released on Roadrunner Records (a very prestigious metal label) in Japan, causing them to return home. They have both a new album and feature documentary on the way for 2007. Oh, and the drummer plays with four sticks and only wears a cock-sock when they play live.

Eksperimentoj

Eksperimentoj is a sort of lighter, post-punk version of Downy. Their vocalists sound quite similar, though Eksperimentoj features all English lyrics. Their music is similarly repetitive and urgent, while at the same time dark and scuttling into the shadows. Eksperimentoj is much less "arty" than Downy, closer along the lines of Radiohead, though much more droning and trance-like. Songs like "untitled," "Solaris" and "Nocturnal" are close to what I would call classic goth, dark and cold, raw and full of exposed nerve endings. They are a new band, having just released their first full length album this year. Expect good things from these guys in the future.

Eel

Eel is eclectic. Eel is experimental. Eel is exceptional. Eel is eerie. Eel is eccentric. Eel is electronic. Eel is hard to find information on. As far as I can tell, Eel is the work of one woman. Her songs range from twee-electro pop to very strange, cut up sounds and clips all mashed together into one angular soup, all with an obvious indie/DIY mentality. It's all rather upbeat and happy, with her childlike vocal style adding to the playful mix. The best explanation for her sound can be found here, where you can download clips from each song on her latest album Little Prince.