No disrespect to Tokyo – it truly is the beating heart of Japan full of great attractions, solid nightlife and pretty much 80 percent of the bands featured around here. I used to be cold towards the city, but my icy heart has melted to the point I kind of really like Tokyo! It’s a cool place where I’ve eaten at the Sbarro more than any sane person should (which is to say, once).
Yet when someone directs my attention to an artist from the Kansai region making music, they are going to get an extra push because this is the region I call home. Which is the case with indie-pop project It Happens. The first track from this outfit, “Swanwick,” is a plenty above-average cut of twee goodness, all bouncy melody and whispery vocals. It comes off like a Salvation Army Moscow Club…who posted about It Happens in the first place. It’s nice stuff…but also nothing super memorable, the sort of indie pop you hear and go “ooooo that’s really swell” but eventually gets shuffled out to make room for another track bound to suffer a similar fate. If this hailed from Tokyo, I’d be thinking a lot more. Yet since it’s from Osaka…a place without much of an indie-pop scene, Ice Cream Shout excluded…I’m willing to put it up and basically say: nice tune, but let’s keep an eye on what It Happens does in the future. Listen below.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/24266156″]