Liking It Rough: Evening Cinema’s “Everlasting Summer”

Of course, it has to be said — this is labelled a “demo,” so it is totally possible that down the line Tokyo indie-pop band Evening Cinema make “Everlasting Summer” better, or manage to muck it all up and turn it unlistenable. Anything is possible! But despite that, this is an indie-pop group, and that genre tends to be at its best when the rough edges are left visible for all to see. “Everlasting Summer” is a zippy, electronic-smudged number, opening with seasonally fitting cicada chirps and accented by lovely twinkling sounds (which…remind me of Mario Kart power ups?). I’m thinking the “demo” tag comes because the vocals can sound rough at points, but that also adds some charm to “Everlasting Summer.” They can do whatever they want with it, yeah, but this version is pretty solid in my book. Listen above.