Early in this blog’s history, I was obsessed with indie-pop. Whether it was a holdover of my time in college where I bragged about liking The Field Mice (not the coolest kid in the dorm, as you could imagine) or because I still sometimes read Nitsuh Abebe’s “Twee As Fuck” article in awe, Make Believe Melodies used to live up to its twee-tastic name by featuring countless jangly groups dotting Japan like Lawson’s convenience stores. Many of those outfits warranted their spots here, while a few probably lucked into a post by just sounding like what I wanted to hear rather than making really good music. Today, though, indie-pop isn’t quite as dominating – electronic artists, from the shadowy CUZ ME PAIN types to the trip-tastic INNIT crew, have vaulted over anything taking cues from Sarah Records.
Yet I haven’t lost the taste for melancholy pop songs, and Osaka’s Les Glass Glacé fills the void just right. The project recently released three new songs of sparse twee. Living up to the style’s DIY spirit, the brief “Half Of Us Ever” features not much more than singing, soft hand claps and some electronic doodling. “Winter Marine Day” – bit misleading of a title, as it sounds more like the warmest part of Spring – gets filled out a little more, but is still pretty skeletal. Yet who needs flesh when the melody sounds as nice as the one here, or on “Fun Marine Day #3 Bittersweet Love Authority” (which is early favorite for “twee-est song title of the year)? Les Glass Glacé makes simple, sweet music – the type of stuff that still excites me. Listen below.
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