Such A Nice Talker: Indigo La End’s “大停電の夜に”

Zazen Boy’s influence on modern Japanese rock continues to reveal itself with each passing day, especially to those who fill their hours navigating the elephant graveyard of MySpace where math-rockish groups continue to experiment with hyper-talked vocals. Though a few manage to get it right, a lot also come off as pale imitations hoping to land in a hypothetical Pandora “Zazen Boys Station.” Indigo La End’s “大停電の夜に” takes some steps from Zazen Boys but smartly finds a huge way to stand out. Whereas the Boys combine a bunch of manic ideas together with string, Indigo resemble what one might imagine the inside of a guy holding a “The End Is Nigh” sign sounds like. The guitars go from sharp downward spikes to bubbly, dreamy things rather quickly, and then the vocals kick in. The lead singer rambles off words like a lost NASA transmission, whirling away until…he suddenly starts singing something resembling a sweet little chorus. From there, “大停電の夜に” goes down various paths, including a noisy bit that transforms into the track’s most simply sweet bit. Indigo La End should draw some comparisons to Zazen Boys, but “大停電の夜に” shows them as a bit more unhinged and, as a result, a lot less copycatish. Listen here.