Tokyo’s Neon Cloud has been labeled as “witch house” and the sorta info-lacking project’s first EP Knit forgoes proper song titles in favor of symbols that have my “contorl C” fingers working overtime. Yet since I know next to nothing about that sub-genre and came dangerously close to failing geometry in high school, let’s instead focus on other angles while discussing this group/person. Like how Neon Cloud is the latest musical outfit to emerge in Tokyo’s blossoming shadow-accented bedroom musician community, existing in the same sonic universe as the CUZ ME PAIN guys and recent blog-magnet Sapphire Slows. The most prominent difference between Neon Cloud and those other folks is the clearness of vocals – whereas CUZ ME PAIN usually muffles samples (save for Faron Square) and Sapphire Slows turns her voice into space chatter, Neon Cloud’s lead singer lets her voice hang out in the open all chilly and isolated. Though she chipmunks herself a bit on “□” the rest of Knit finds her channeling the semi-creepy darkness of Fever Ray with a bit more stomp stirred in. “○” ends up the highlight, a skeletal meditation where voice and music mix just right, less scary and more disconcerting. Like Flau labelmate Cokiyu, Neon Cloud integrates fragile singing into the sounds nicely, but whereas Cokiyu oozes warmth Neon Cloud gives off icy vibes. Icy vibes that are pretty easy to like, even with shapes for song names.