Hosome

If Melt Banana and The Aprils had sex at a carnival, Hosome might have been their bouncing baby beast. Given an overstuffed toy-box, some half-broken electronic gadgets and a metronome better suited from some sort of Lovecraftian ritual, that child would grow and produce this sort of childish yet intricate music.

Slathered in a thick layer of echo and reverberations, it's a bit tough to pick out any sharp outlines in Hosome's music, though that's probably for the best. There is so much going on in each short slip of a song that trying to focus only causes the listener to miss out on most of the track. The keyboards pump out a drunken carnival stomp, while the guitars swing along with the unpredictable drum lines. The dual male/female vocals also keep things swirling and spinning around as they interweave, calling back and forth to each other across the midway.

Another interesting aspect of the band (as if they need anything more) are their live shows. In a live setting, all of the haziness is stripped away and the band is a much more raw and powerful force. They play virtually non-stop, and the light-speed sonic barrage is overwhelming. Live, they transform from a swirling, art-rock technicolor, pop roller-coaster into a seething, math punk, blistering fury of sound. Hosome is the real deal.

BUY HOSOME RELEASES AT HEARJAPAN, CDJAPAN AND ITUNES

"You Want To Be A HEN"



Official Site
MySpace

Members:
Hayato Nakajima - Vocals, Guitar
Shikiko Osawa - Vocals, Keyboards
Yoshifumi　Kuwano - Bass
Ryohei Toda - Drums

Albums:
Jakamashi Jazz - 2009/09/09
New Fascio - 2007/12/12

"Venetian Acrobat Son"


"Nihilistic Country"


Live


Live


Live

Videos of the Week - 9/13/09

HOSOME "You Want To Be A HEN"


Starting off this week we've got this one from HOSOME. The video for "You Want To eb A HEN" is just as colorful and crazy at the music. I'm not sure what's going on in either, but I know I like it. From the chiptune intro to the cut-up garage rock guitars, there's a little be of everything. Somehow the video fits perfectly.

More after the jump!



6eyes "Return"


I've been spending way too much time listening to this one track from 6eyes over and over. I don't know what it is. The cool electro two note baseline in the chorus, I think. The video is a pretty good accompaniment too, being stark, high-contrast black and white and very bare-bones.

Shabushabu "Daibutsu Hands feat.FFF"


OK, time for a really weird one. This is the video for Shabushabu's "Daibutsu Hands." It's really too weird for words. I don't know where people get the energy to make these sorts of cut and paste monster creations, let alone the inspiration. Well, ok, maybe I can guess, but still...

Saitone "Overlapping Spiral"


Here's one from the Japanese chiptune master Saitone. The video seems to get more than a little inspiration from Autrchre's "Granz Graf," but there's nothing wrong with that! The video producers really did a good job at making you feel like you're inside all the little black boxes that are generating the sounds.

Crunch "Bit Hop"


Here's a song from British producer Dave Tipper, aka Crunch. I've got a pretty obscure 2x12" release from Crunch, and was looking it up a while back. Found out about Tipper, mostly due to this video. And what a great video it is! It's pretty creepy, what with the ghostly characters and all the speedy garbled talking. Plus it's got a nice story that'll make you watch it over instantly at least once.

That's it! Now go outside and play.