"Drifting sheets of guitar cascade like frozen waves of distortion and crescendo, only to wash themselves away when thoughts turn warmer. Complex and intertwining melodies (focusing mostly on guitars) bring on the Sunny Day Real Estate and My Bloody Valentine comparisons. And with subdued vocals buried in the mix like the suspended colors beneath an oil spill, some Hum influences shine through. Japanese Sunday builds walls of distortion that add weight without making it metallic. This is clever guitar based indie rock of a higher caliber on its initial ascent skyward. Heads are craning upward in unison"
This indie rock powerhouse known as Japanese Sunday should be a welcome addition to the San Diego roster of quality bands. Having put together a ten song debut that floats from the eloquence similar to that of EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY to the raucousness of acts
like FUGAZI, Japanese Sunday have managed to develop a sound all their own. Songs like "First Shot Fired on a Blue A.M." and "Tigers on Ships" are easily my favorites but the guitar work on the intro and then throughout "Pinocchio, The Bleeder" almost sounds like classical Latin guitar and is fantastic. The vocals are strong throughout, even though they could be perceived as whiny at times. However, Japanese Sunday's strength lies in their ability to compose a collection of songs that use a diverse number of instruments and sounds to make catchy and interesting tunes. This is right up there with acts like BOILERMAKER, NO KNIFE, FIRST WAVE HELLO, LOWCLOUDCOVER and GOODBYE BLUE MONDAY. "Taps Taps Lights Out" is a great debut by the band and I look forward to future releases.
"...a true standout...By far the best example of a successful
traversal of genres, at least in recent memory...musical beauty...Bridging the gap is a
hard thing to do. Most attempts never come to fruition and many
outright fail. This effort, however, is one of the few that succeeds.
If post-rock can find more bands like Japanese Sunday to pull more and
more listeners in, the possibility of it changing from an underground
scene into a burgeoning, semi-popular genre will definitely be more
plausible."
"Welcoming you to the world of HUM and EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY, Japanese Sunday employs shoegazer guitar-centric rock with dense vocal arrangements. Emotionally wrought indie rock with thick guitars that finger their way through your bodys hair tickling each and every spot with spine tingling accuracy...Impeccable."
"...the layered sounds of Demure-era ENGINE DOWN, HOMESICK FOR SPACE & SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE - the latter being a group who left a deep & vacant spot in indie rock years ago - and JS have seen comparisons to before....Japanese Sunday are at brimming volume.. gearing to break something - be it their own instruments or your attention...explores various spaces not readily found in "progressive" rock today...If most of the recent drab crop of 'indie flashes' have left you [like many] returning to your well-worn copy of Diary, fueled with all things "Grendel" - Japanese Sunday are steadily filling a void.
Seek."
SCORED: 7.00253
Goes well with: BARDO POND, MOGWAI, DINOSAUR JR.
"A solid debut from a San Diego band that believes to an almost religious degree in the power of the rock-guitar crescendo. They dont necessarily dilly dally with drawn-out instrumental foreplay like GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR!. Theyll start with a thunder, then ease back into delicate pins-and-needle work of post-rock bands like THE ALBUM LEAF and TORTISE. Buried in the craggy walls of sound is vocalist Eric Kusanagi, whos high-pitched moan is a powerful weapon the band would do well to showcase in subsequent recordings...essentially a well-executed wave of guitar..."
"They provide both an eerie and dreamy backdrop with smashing choruses accompanied by soft and lazy vocals. Japanese Sunday is a band that has only just begun to take off. Dont miss the chance to check them out!"
-Jen Hilbert, music editor SDMUSICMATTERS
POP MATTERS
"...big beefy indie rock...they show promise..."
-Jason MacNeil
WEST COAST PERFORMER MAGAZINE
"Japanese Sunday's debut album Taps Taps Lights Out is kind of like a restless night of sleep. The soft and sleepy guitar melodies weaving through the album convey a sense of falling into the deeper stages toward REM sleep, while other thick, heavy guitar sounds and smashing drums reflect the feeling of an insomniac tossing and turning, unable to stop thinking. Its this kind of interchange between echoing and distorted sounds that characterizes the album...a worthy effort for a first album..."
"distills the best parts of MBV, Mogwai, Hum and Interpol into one challenging, engaging listen"
-dirtbagsdelight
"Japanese Sunday was really good. They remind me of Mono, Pelican, and Sleeping People."
-Ramble of a Rambler, modous.blogspot.com
“Japanese Sunday remind me of some of the more atmosperic progressive influenced bands out there, only with a little more attention to detail, this is the kind of band that you could easily get lost listening to, but they seem to keep you from feeling in over your head, with their good song construction, it’s really kind of an interesting mix of stuff…”
-nowwithsound.com
"There's no denying that Japanese Sunday are good at this...Here, the guitars aim skyward...this San Diego 4 piece sounds tight and focused"
-Delusions Of Adequacy
"a well oiled machine"
-Alternative Press
request J A P A N E S E S U N D A Y on local San Diego stations such as FM 94.9 Sundays 8-10pm (619) 570-1949 and 91X Sundays 6-8pm (619) 570-1919 and Free Radio San Diego 96.9 (619) 501-9532
I'm seriously so stoked for you cats right now!!! Have a great, great trip. Bring me back a samurai and a geisha please. And if you see one, a Hatori Hanso katana. Bonzai!!!!
If you guys are there on Saturday or sunday go to Yoyogi park in the afternoon. It's rad. People will be picknicking, playing music and hanging out. Go to the Harajuku side and you will see 50's rebel dancer gangs. Possibly the funniest thing ever.
