Do The Twinkles Signify Solitude Or Being Alive?: Lidery “Grandbleu”

Japan loves shoegaze and dream pop and whatever other genre names you want to invent, meaning a yearly flood of head-pointed-towards sky swirly guitar music. Well, 2011 now has a frontrunner for “best dream pop song” and Lidery can add that distinction to their resume thanks to “Grandbleu.” J-Rock Explosion wrote about this track first, so props to him because whereas a lot of shoegaze takes the name a bit too literally, this Tokyo outfit has the smarts to add a little depth to their songwriting. Case in point – the first sounds you hear on “Grandbleu” are the twinkling notes of a music box that shine off for a long chunk of the song. A guitar line soon walks beside it, and then Lidery add what sounds like a wrench or maybe a typewriter as well, transforming the humming of a garage into an everyday melody. Excuse the obscure chest-puffing, but it sounds a lot like Finland’s Lau Nau. What separates “Grandbleu” from other Japanese dream pop is all of this ends up building towards something, a total release prompted by…well swirling guitars and sudden drums. Yet, in another high-five worthy moment, Lidery don’t get caught staring at a ceiling fan but rather let this intense segment play out and then sorta die out. It doesn’t matter whether this little surge is supposed to be sad or life-affirming…I guess choose your current mood…because regardless it sideswipes you and eventually passes on. Listen here.