Artist comparisons are always a thorny thing, but let’s dare anyway and say — at his best, Tokyo singer/songwriter Shinnosuke Sugata brings to mind Shugo Tokumaru, both via kaleidoscopic folk-pop and more hushed moments. That has been highlighted on two songs released recently — “Even Though A Closet Is So Dark” leans towards the latter, a lazy-day hopper that shines primarily because of Sugata’s relaxed vocals, which are easy on the ear without ever turning too sleepy (see a late-song stretch where he turns up the intensity every so gently). Listen to that one above. Even better is “Arrival And In The Meantime,” the most Shugo-ish thing he’s put out into the world, full of twisty acoustic guitar and peppered by real-world touches such as what sounds like an alarm clock. Sugata takes the song into a wonderful, fever-dream place. Listen below.
