Elfs In Bloom: Girl Meets Manifesto

One of the more interesting trends in Japanese indie music this year as been the influence of anime in various songs. We’ve already talked about a pair of artists who create Ghibli-like wonderlands, but other musicians have been literally summoning old Japanese cartoons in their tracks. From the submerged beauty of Shortcake Collage Tape to the twee of Daisyblue to the AKB-step of Maltine Records, more music makers are getting nostalgic for the animations of (presumably) their youth.

Add Hokkaido-band Elfs In Bloom to the colorful pile. Though this home-recording project only features anime samples twice on their EP Girl Meets Manifesto, Elfs’ placement of said samples end up influencing the vibe of the rest of this EP. They appear in the first and last song, both times graced with an echo effect that gives them the feel of being lost to the past, memories. What follows – noisy indie-pop that would have taken part in an exchange program with Creation Records back in the 80’s – aims at evoking a similar times-gone-by atmosphere, highlighted by feedback-rich exercises in indie-pop like “I See Your Face And Feel Ecstasy” and “Resurrection.” Even the more straightforward moments, like “Summer Of Love” and “Everything But A Girl,” choose the twee path of sun-dappled reminiscing, music that sounds good in the summer but isn’t necessarily about this present summer. Those anime samples might come off as a little strange at first, but they make perfect sense in Elfs’ world. Listen below, or download here.