"Bands You Should be Listening To" Volume 2: andymori

Today's Subject: andymori

 

I have a theory that certain things can only really affect you when you're at a specific age or time of your life. For instance, The Catcher in the Rye is a novel you have to read as a teenager for it to become one of those books that changes your life. It's power comes from being able to identify with the themes of alienation and frustration with the world at that exact point in your life when you're just seeing how "crummy" the world actually can be. A Wild Sheep Chase changed my life because I read it at an age (15? 16? I don't know, late sophomore year of high school) where my precocious little mind was becoming bored and intellectually unsatisfied with "the traditional novel", even though I grew up a huge bookworm, coupled with a growing interest in Japanese culture. Some things you can only "get" at a specific time in your life, and I think being a young adult (16-23, let's say, high school to college) is probably the most vulnerable and influential time period to your (pop-/)culture appreciating self.

andymori is one of those bands, I think. The following is the first song on their first album. I suggest you listen with a) headphones and b) the volume cranked up. 

FOLLOW ME

Where to Start: Definitely their self-titled debut. It is all around a great album, though some really stand out more than others. It's just full of boundless energy and youthfulness and emotion. It just feels like being 20-something. They also have some songs that have a nice, light, jazz-y feel. This is one of my favorite albums of all time.

ベンガルトラとウィスキー

Where Not to Start: andymori just came out with a new album ファンファーレと熱狂, but it did not grab me nearly as much as their debut. There's hardly a song on here with that energy I loved on their debut. However, it seems like they're learning/exploring how to write more intricate and developed music, which is a plus in terms of their evolution as artists. It's not a bad album, but it's very different (and ironic, given the title of the album). I guess everyone grows up.

How to Get a Hold of 'em: JapanFiles has a download service that has their new album up for sale, and I know for sure they used to have their first album, but if it's still there, I can't find it. But like I said, don't start with that album. So I would suggest you, you know, do some google searching. (Whatever your moral compass allows you to do.)

I hope to see them  @ the Liquid Room in Ebisu April 2nd. I will be the gaijin who looks lost and totally confused like he's never been to a rock concert in Japan (because that will be the case).