Art-School

Formed in 2000, Art-School are your textbook indy-rock band. They don't rely on flashy guitar tricks or complicated time signatures. Instead they just do what so many other great rock bands have been doing for ages: write some really great songs.

While still a relatively young band, Art-School has risen in popularity rather quickly. Their first album Requiem for Innocence was released in 2002, and they've continued to pump out excellent albums every single year since. They've also been able to play larger and more popular music festivals in very short order.

Their style is a bit middle-of-the-road. They generally stick to mid-tempo songs full of earnest lyrics and straight-forward chords. While they are a bit modest in the composition department, they more then make up for it in intensity. Not to be confused with your typical emo/scremo band, Art-School has a much more mature sound, relying more on their top-notch song-writing instead of trendy posing or in-you-face antics. Singer Riki Kinoshita may not be the most versatile singer, with his voice cracking and occasionally just barely missing the note he's aiming for. Of course this fits perfectly into the role of the tortured indie soul, and Kinoshita hits all the marks.

They certainly are emotional, but in an honest, non-commercialized way. Perhaps they would be a fair representation of an art-school band, but only if you took out the “arty” pretensions and left the heightened scene of preciousness and innocent feelings. Hopefully they won't burn out from the increasing attention and demand, and will continue to create their rare form of raw and honest rock.

Scarlet

Buy Art-School releases here!


Official Site

Members:
Riki Kinoshita－Vocals, Guitars
Masafumi Todaka－Guitars
Takeshi Uno－Bass
Yuichi Sakurai－Drums

Releases:
Requiem for Innocence - 2002
Love/Hate - 2003
Boys Don't Cry (Live) - 2004
Paradise Lost - 2005
Missing - 2006
Flora - 2007

Lost in the Air


Missing


Black Sunshine


Freesia


Swan Song


Under My Skin


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