As those lucky enough to have visited Tokyo will testify that prefecture has a thriving music scene and perhaps the brightest stars are quintet Lie and a Chameleon. After the success of their sophomore album JUGEM their British label JPU Records have reissued the bands debut WOTOHIANA with vocalist Cham translating the titles into English especially for an European audience.
“The night parade of one hundred demons” is the strong opener and arrives like an oversized kabuki monster and stomps all over the shop. Typically fast and furious it finds the band in exuberant form as the song bounces from speaker to speaker like a hyperactive child. The infectious riff immediately hooked me in so be warned: if you listen to this first track the rest of WOTOHIANA will reel you in. “Message to Phaeton” follows and it’s suitably effervescent with Cham’s vocals floating atop a steady beat. “JOHN DOE” is delivered with a twin guitar attack and its staccato riff is very mosh pit inducing and it’s no surprise it’s such a live favourite that ignites crowds wherever it’s played.
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Tracks from JUGEM were used in the mobile phone game Bleach: Brave Souls and the anime In/Spectre and there’s something very cinematic about Lie and a Chameleon’s sound from the novel-esque song titles to the sonics contained within and that’s best expressed on “The notebooks of A”. It’s the soundtrack to a rain-soaked, neon-lit metropolis that would accompany some really cool film noir like Alphaville or Rumble Fish. Although the lyrics are all in Japanese I’m nevertheless picking up a Philip K. Dick vibe throughout but especially on “About Mr N” which, like an undercover spy in mac and hat, blurs the lines between fantasy and reality.
With plenty of neat time changes “Riding Scales” spins the listener round and round with an uptempo ska beat that leaves you dizzied in its wake. On an album that barely pauses for breath “In the city where the black-tailed gull crows” is a love letter to Tokyo that gently ululates and provides a nice change of pace before “Tetrapot-New-Urashima” arrives laden with a heavy groove that renders it an earworm of the highest order. The penultimate “However the illusionist shake the dice” is a lively little number that’s propelled forth by its own frenetic energy before “KINIRONO” closes the album. It’s a track that’s more restrained than its predecessor and would work well rolling over end credits and provides a nice sense of closure.
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If your only exposure to Lie and a Chameleon was through their second album then WOTOSHIANA would make a fine introduction. Despite being originally released in 2018 it’s a record that still sounds fresh and vital and makes a great companion piece to JUGEM.
WOTOSHIANA is available for streaming and ing now.
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