Let’s get the disclosures out of the way — Looprider is fronted by Ryotaro Aoki (contributes to the Japan Times, is someone I bump into while jogging near Koenji) and the band’s My Electric Factory is out via Call And Response Records, which is operated by Ian Martin (Japan Times, someone I have seen in person a lot!). OK, that mandatory part done…
Looprider released their debut album My Electric Fantasy earlier this week, and it’s a solid collection. We’ve already talked about the shoegaze-leaning “Farewell” — though let’s pause to note that the band filmed a music video for that song, which you can watch here — and that one serves as the finale on this album. The preceding songs tend to be a bit more aggressive than “Farewell” — save for “Satellite” — and can be downright sludgy, as on “Dronelove (Is All You Need).” And the more kicking moments make for a good balance, making My Electric Fantasy far more immediate than a collection of pure ground-staring jams. Get it here, or listen below.