Eastern Youth
Kumo Inuke Koe
Toy’s Factory
Moving and emotive indie punk rock straight outta Tokyo. Eastern Youth, singing all their songs in Japanese, bring together the lyrical subtleties of the East and the sonic dynamics of the West. Influences like Jawbreaker and Fugazi line the edges of the songs. The lyrics, not translated, aren’t as easy to understand, but feelings can carry through voice in any language. There is anger and there is passion, and perhaps even desire for something better. The breaks are dead on, the guitars alternate between light Yo La Tengo swirls and heavy post-metal riffs, with a lot of straight ahead distortion in between. Some songs, like “Hazakura Namiki” (After Cherry Blossoms) move into a quieter area, with an almost underwater ’80s bass line playing against an ache of guitars. These songs make me want to sing in another language, but I can still feel every note. It’s taken us over ten years to get this band here (they’ve recently been playing shows with At the Drive-In), but the wait was definitely worth it.
Toy’s Factory, http://www.toysfactory.co.jp/artist/index\_d.html)
