Laid-Back Whimsy: Nohtenkigengo’s OOO

Whimsy might not actually be the right word for what Nohtenkigengo does. Sure, the bulk of the music this solo project creates involves the sort of instruments that make one’s twee radar go off like mad, including xylophone, accordion and all sorts of other cutesy sounds. This sonic choice…along with the voice singing all the words here…brings to mind Shugo Tokumaru (or, to some degree, Sufjan Stevens when he was still putting on faux-musicals about Midwestern states). Nohtenkigengo, though, stands out on his own though on his latest collection OOO, a sensitive album built for lazy, lonely afternoons.

What separates Nohtenkigengo from the above mentioned acts is his laid-back nature – whereas Tokumaru or Stevens are very deliberate with every note, the songs on OOO just sway, every accordion push and guitar line not racing to get anywhere in particular. Sometimes, they build up to a climax (like on the title track), but that rise surprises you, coming out of nowhere to be just a touch more dramatic than what preceded it. This isn’t flashy music – rather, it is slowly enveloping stuff. The twinkling “Echo,” complete with a beat approaching a military march made for stuffed toys, is probably the fastest song here, and it still feels like a stroll around a park. This is a very rural album, one where the instrumentation evokes images of the countryside (opener “Toi” definitely features recorder, and probably features banjo), and the more relaxed nature those areas tend to have. Get it here, or listen below.