As of late, I’ve felt an intense nostalgia for Osaka. Blame this incredible Soleil Soleil track, or maybe the still persistent cold of Tokyo, or maybe the crowded morning train…but I’ve been longing for the middle of Japan lately, a place I lived for nearly three years. Most of all, I’ve missed the music scene there — and here is where I pause and acknowledge it has changed, everything changes — because of how close knit it all seemed, how every fun new idea was met with curiosity from people you wouldn’t expect to be hanging out in that sonic nook but here they were because, well, I don’t know. But I loved it.
Also, because Kansai in general produces a lot of tip-top music. Pictured Resort are a relatively new band, one who have shared a total of two songs online, both of which popped up on SoundCloud three months ago. They seem to be scoring gigs, though (that’s how I spotted them), and those two songs hint at a lot of potential. The outfit’s best is “Head West,” a woozy number loaded with the sort of laid-back guitar you’d expect from an indie-pop band, but made feverish thanks to the keyboard, which acts as the sun-splattered filter here, making all of it seem even more melancholy, longing for something else (the hint here being something about the west coast). Listen to that one above.