“Patrick, I thought you had nothing new to say about Japanese indie-pop?”
“I probably don’t, but that’s not going to stop me from highlighting this new song from Homecomings.”
“Huh? I don’t follow.”
“Well, Homecomings don’t do anything particularly new, especially in the ever-crowded field of Japanese indie-pop. It has been, what, three years since a new wave of these Sarah Records worshiping bands came around?”
“Yeah, sounds about right.”
“OK, but it’s 2014 now. The indie-pop scene has had plenty of chances to catch us off guard, but a lot of these bands have stayed glued in the same place, imagining a world where music ended with the release of the C86 tape.”
“I guess that sorta sucks.”
“Oh, not at all! Look, as long as young melancholy people have access to cheap guitars and recording equipment, this style is always going to exist. And those kids need that community as an outlet…not everyone comes out of adolescence a super-cool outgoing person. Plenty of people exit the teen years still feeling wistful, holding on to unrequited love. And that’s fine and dandy, as long as they don’t get creepy about it.”
“Uhhhhh, weren’t you going to talk about Homecomings?”
“Right, right. Well, see, lots of indie-pop bands have popped up over the last few years, but a few have been better than others. Homecomings’ album last year is half the reason I’ve gotten less excited about the twee stuff in this country…they just do it so well. Just listen to this ‘I Want You Back’ song. It hops along and is catchy as heck, but it doesn’t sound ramshakle. It sounds crisp, and the vocals come through clearly, making the words hit even harder. And the chorus! It isn’t quite as pronounced as on some of their other songs, but the vocal harmonizing sounds so good coming from this lot. Songs that sound like they were recorded in an old rec room are charming and can be great…and the ‘anyone can do this’ ethos of indie-pop is great…but sometimes a little extra effort goes a long way.”
“Nah, I feel you…though I’m not sure I needed much convincing.”
“Probably, but it would have been boring to watch the video above and just write ‘man, these guys are great.'”
(Listen above, via Neaux)
