Shintaro Sakamoto - Yoo-hoo

 

When I posted 'On-Gaku: Our Sound' in January, in a moment of synchronicity/oversight I came to realize Shintaro Sakamoto also released his newest album the same month.  'Yoo-hoo' is Shintaro's 5th full-length solo album, following 21 years of fronting Yura Yura Teikoku.

His former band had a more prevalent psych/rock aspect propelled by his guitar/singing, but much like his solo work exists a common thread of dreamy/dreary unconventional pop/surf that he continues to explore and refine.

This album sounds like lounge music in the coolest lounge in town, complete with sporadic traditional horn/wind/percussion instruments and outlier inclusions Shintaro's style is known for (e.g. whatever that little instrument is on "Is There A Place For You There?").  I won't bother dissecting this track to track, as fans of his past work will probably be onboard regardless, but for everyone else I would give it my rubber stamp of endorsement of being my favorite solo album he's released.  'Yoo-hoo' is maybe not his most experimental album, but likewise a reminder that you're always in for a surprise.  Ultimately the dreamy+dreary/surf-psych ventricle throughout much of his sound is (in my opinion) beating better than ever on 'Yoo-hoo'.

Can check out the three singles released below.  Bandcamp for prior releases (hasn't made its way there yet) and direct purchase link through his label.

Bandcamp

Purchase

Converge - Love Is Not Enough

Converge released their new album, 'Love Is Not Enough' today; vinyl is already sold out (on Bandcamp) but I'm sure more will be coming.  The album feels relatively short but it definitely checks all the "this-Converge-album-is-great" boxes.  Just one of the best bands to do it, and still excellent 30+ years into their discography.  Also recommend checking out their recent Audiotree performance.

Bandcamp

On-Gaku: Our Sound

I've been trying to commit to posting at least once per month in my spare time; being sick the past week or so and not having any albums recently that have blown my socks off, I figured I would switch it up and post a movie recommendation that is music-adjacent.

'On-Gaku: Our Sound' by Kenji Iwaisawa came out in 2019, based on the 2005 manga 'Ongaku' ("Music") by Hiroyuki Oohashi.  This movie has particular relevance to me/this blog, because one of the main characters, "Kenji" (center above), is voiced by Shintaro Sakamoto (singer/guitarist of Yura Yura Teikoku, now solo), the first I believe of his voice-acting credits.  Some of the voice cast is also handled by other venerated Japanese musicians.

I won't give a movie review/film essay aside to say it is a very visually (and auditorily, with Shintaro also contributing to the soundtrack) appealing anime featuring rotoscoping with hand-drawn emphasis, centered around three teenage delinquents who decide to start a band together -- with none of them having any musical background.  As you'd imagine, the hijinks and roadblocks that follow make for an entertaining and inspiring film.  The plot builds to them performing live for the first time, and the result is indeed the "climax" in all senses of the film.

Just thought I would shout this out, sans an awkward scene (you'll know when you see it), it's a very enjoyable movie with slightly more deadpan comedy than drama, but overall a lot of heart; no doubt resonating with anyone who has jammed in a room with bandmates, especially for the first time.

I don't think any "regular" streaming services currently have this available (possibly Amazon for purchase?), so you might have to get creative or do extra digging to find it.  But physical copies can be bought from Amazon or wherever.