About a month ago, I went out on a Monday night to catch Tokyo indie-pop group BOYISH. One of the acts before them were a duo named Colorado Coronado, a band whose name I had seen before on SoundCloud, but had always filed away as “probably more indie-pop.” The past six months have been so choked with twee-leaning music that people have told me I write too much about it – and they are sorta right, though I’m just trying to reflect the underground musical landscape in Japan right now. Still, I try not to throw just any group with a cutesy name up because “OMG TWEE,” so I sorta brushed Colorado Coronado aside.
I should have seen what was coming before they started playing – the PA system blared out Deerhunter’s Microcastle album while the duo set up, and it would become a sort of warning – these guys aren’t twee, they worship at the altar of Bradford Cox. What followed was a jolting set, one highlighted by a looping number featuring nothing but guitar and electronic noise, under which the lead singer belted away for what seemed like ten minutes. That song was “An Old Strange Man,” and you can listen to a (not quite as captivating) versions of it below.
After that, I did more research and realized Colorado Cornoado certainly aren’t indie-pop, at least not in the conventional definition. Browsing this page, they have shambly garage rockers (“Rocketship,” “Young Days”) along with the hypnotic drag of “An Old Strange Man.” The duo’s newest songs continue showing the sonic range they operate in – “About The Sun” resembles “Old Man” with its slow-burning repetition, Coronado’s vocals blurred out by the out-of-focus guitar and lava-lamp electronics. Meanwhile, demo track “Struggled” is one of the clearer things they’ve ever recorded…at least in its present form…a twangy, semi-ugly bit of minimalist pop. Ditch preconceived expectations now and listen to both here.