In most situations, if I missed a new song from a band by two months I’d probably just continue to ignore it and hope nobody cared. With NOKIES! “Let Your Band Sing,” though, I’m willing to step out and say “boy I’m not good at locating stuff” because it’s an interesting change-up from the spastic group. Recorded live in front of what sounds like a relatively intimate crowd, “Let Your Band Sing” finds the Kansai-based outfit laying down a relatively straightforward folk-tinged number, all acoustic guitar and campfire sing-a-long. No surprise shouting, no wonky time shifts, no craziness whatsoever. Just something I’d expect a summer camp counselor to sing.
Whether this is a viable change for the group remains to be seen. NOKIES! handle the more relaxed pace on “Let Your Band Sing” just fine, proving they are capable musicians etc etc. But, despite their being an asylum’s worth of energetic indie-pop/rock bands in Japan today, NOKIES! remain one of the few who actually sounded earnest about all the yelping. Whereas say, The Chef Cooks Me sound like opportunists, NOKIES! best stuff captures a wild youthful energy that’s hard to fake. So while “Let Your Band Sing” sounds pleasant, I hope it’s just a cafe diversion. Savor young adulthood while you can guys.
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