New DYGL: EP #1

Nobuki Akiyama stays busy. The lead singer of Ykiki Beat can expect a busy summer, as that project’s debut album When The World Is Wide drops this July. Maybe anticipating a packed season, his other band DYGL shared their EP #1 digitally this week. It is technically their first cassette release, but can be purchased digitally as well.

It opens with the strongest statement any of Akiyama’s guitar-centric groups has managed, the surf-rock shambler “Let’s Get Into Your Car.” It’s an escapist tune, one featuring a simple but effective hook wherein the title gets turned into a stretched-out command that hits nicely with the guitar. DYGL is a bit rougher around the edges than Ykiki Beat, and that fuzzy side gives all of this EP a nice feel. Nothing matches the hookiness of “Car,” though “Just Say It Tonight” comes close. And the tape ends on an especially impassioned note with “All The Time,” wherein Akiyama’s voice turns into a (British-accented?) growl, a whole lot of determination coming through gritted teeth. Here’s hoping he keeps the intensity hope this summer. Listen below, or get it here.