Saturday, January 8, 2022

Tokyo Underground Scene 2021-2022

* * Originally written for our friend Billiam's fantastic punk zine MAGNETIC VISION * *

Billiam, 

I recently found myself in Japan. Tokyo is great! I feel like the up and coming bands are generally overlooked here. So, what’s the underground scene like? Here’s five bands from Tokyo I recommend checking out! 


- Brendan


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WAATER


Really, really catchy songs. Really familiar while really unique sounding. Straight up great guitar music. Search “Water - Mistaken (LIVE)” on YouTube and then listen 3 times. Super cool!






M.A.Z.E


Fantastic post-punk. Fun beats, riffs, singing, and all around wild style. Definitely wild. Recommend checking out their record “Live at Archer Ballroom” (recorded in Chicago??) Nice!







PSYCHOHEADS


Non-stop chugfest. Like slamming your head against bricks. Probably the most punk band on this list. Do they have a stand up drummer?? Huhh? Who knows, but I dig it. Smell ya later!



 



THE HIGHMARTS


Garage rock jammers with high energy tunes. Radiating positive vibes. Remem ber the 60’s? Me neither. This band might have teleported from there. Still…. Yr future legends!






BARBICAN ESTATE


Fresh-wave. Dark psychedelic pulses. Mesmerizing dynamic movement. We can all conquer the world. Debut EP is stellar and live performances are beautifully hazy. Right on!


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P.S.


XPEED is a cool collective that throws some epic shows, Dhidalah are my recent favorites, and had to throw in some Kikagaku Moyo because they're the coolest. PEACE!!