タイムマシーンに乗って２００９年の秋に戻りましょう。私は日本に来てまだ数ヶ月。大阪の郊外に住み、たまに好奇心から、誰が演奏してるのかもわからずライブを観に行っています…退屈なバンドも色々観てきましたが、そんな経験からCubismo Grafico FiveやLove And Hates(後にHNCとMiila And The Geeksを知るきっかけになりました！)等、素晴らしいアーティストを体験する事ができました。そんな中でもWednesdayはかなり早い段階で観る機会に恵まれたのですが、そのギター中心な楽曲と、時折レトロなロックに完全に夢中に。次の年にリリースされたアルバムは凄く堪能していたのですが…それからWednesdayは何処へ？
Let’s step into the way-back machine and travel back to the autumn of 2009. I’ve been living in Japan for only a few months, out in the countryside outside of Osaka. Sometimes, for kicks, I’d just go to shows in the city randomly without knowing anything about the group’s playing. Although this resulted in seeing a fair share of bad outfits, it also resulted in me stumbling across the like of Cubismo Grafico Five, Love And Hates (which led to HNC and Miila And The Geeks) and many more. Wednesday were at one of the first shows I ever saw in person in Osaka, and I was won over by their guitar-centric, sometimes retro-leaning brand of rock. They released an album the next year and I really enjoyed it…and then they sort of just went away.
Turns out they released a new EP at the very end of last year, and the above song is the single from it. “Mr. Free” finds the band exploring the same jaunty territory they were traversing back in 2009, although this one starts slow and then barrels ahead as things progress. Structurally, it’s far more patient than most of their older stuff, which found a catchy idea and ran with it. What’s surprising about Wednesday in 2013 is how they sound like a group who could, conceivably, be lumped into Japan’s indie-pop boom – only their relatively crisp sound quality really makes me think twice. Regardless, nice to see these guys still kicking around. Listen above.
