Merengue (メレンゲ)

Taking a page out of the Remioromen playbook, Merengue play a very safe, mellow form of rock music. Formed around 2002, the trio has stuck to the basics across all four of their albums to-date, focusing more on solid songwriting than on fancy playing or studio tricks. They keep things nice and calm, with the same sort of desperate earnestness in the vocals as that of the aforementioned Remioromen, as well as the likes of Bump of Chicken, Spitz or some of The Pillows' most mellow songs. They play what I can't help but think of as "safe rock," or some other soft, fuzzy singer-songwriter "liftstyle" music you'd most likely hear in a large coffee-shop chain. It's all very pretty and straightforward, with a few pianos and other hazy electronic touches that break up the usual clean guitars and drum ticks. Merengue does mix things up with some electronics a bit more than other bands of the genre, but even their more spacey songs tend to be on the warm-fuzzy side. Very nostalgic and sunny, coffee with the girlfriends, watching children play in the yard kind of stuff.

Underworld



Official Site

Members
Kenji Kubo - vocals, guitars, synthesizer
Takeshi Yamazaki - drums
Tsuyoshi Takeshita - bass

Major Releases
星の出来事 (2006)
Hatsukoi sunset (2004)
Shoujo Placebo (2003)
Ginga (2002)


Chameleon (カメレオン)


Kimi ni Haru wo Omou

Remioromen

Conversely to their being one of the many Japanese bands with a name I can never spell correctly on the first try, Remioromen are one of the few Japanese soft-rock bands that I like a lot. What can I say? A good song is a good song. Never mind that I'd usually be the first in line to punch me in the nuts for listening to them. Actually, some of their earlier stuff sounds a bit like some of the more rockin' songs from The Pillows. They've become hugely popular over their brief four year lifespan however, and lately have been focusing much more on the safe-bet soft ballads.

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