Andymori are a young band, signed to youth records, who perform urgent music that expresses a youthful sense of abandon. A stripped down three piece, Andymori consists of Sohei Oyamada on vocals and guitar, Gotou Hiroki on drums and Hiroshi Fujiwara on bass.
Half of the album is frantic and urgent as if every moment must be filled with action. Singer Sohey Oyamada fits so many syllables into each phrase that he sounds like he’s afraid of being cut off. During ‘Everything Is My Guitar” Oyamada sings with a breakneck urgency – the one-long-shot, recklessly performed music video for this song is a good visual indicator of the sound. The video is very much influenced by Weezer’s video for ‘Undone’.
The other half of the album is much more melancholy. “Life is Party” evokes a sense of weariness and the band seems aware that their youth can’t go on forever. When Oyamada sings the phrase “Life is party” in this song, it sounds like a mantra to get through slow days, rather than a call to action as in “Everything is my guitar”. This sense of melancholy is reminiscent of Nada Surf, expressing a sort of resignation – but maybe rather than resignation, it’s better to call it a sense of acceptance. Like, “This is how it is and I’m going to have to deal with it anyway, so I guess I’ll make the most of it”. Even in these slower moments, there’s a sense of youthful urgency – this is not a band that naval gazes and dwells on their defeats.
Andymori is a great pop band in the same way that Phoenix is a great pop band. Their songs are succinct and melodic, and the band uses their considerable musical sense to write simple, memorable songs. Like Phoenix, however, the songs have a considerable amount of depth under the surface – ensuring that the album stays interesting after repeat listens. A perfect summer album – Highly recommended for fans of guitar based indie rock.
Link:
Digital download available at hearjapan.com.
Great review of andymori’s album! I definitely agree about the “two halves” characterization and I’m not sure which side I like more. Songs like “Follow Me” make me wanna jump up around and dance but then a track like “Aoi Sora” really pulls me in to pondering. There’s certainly a good balance, at least and I really enjoy the album.
Awesome site by the way and keep up the good work \m/>_<
This band seems pretty cool. “Life is Party” music video reminds me of how the youth is in S.K.
They’re a fun band, and yeah, the video reminds me of some of the Korean movies I’ve seen.
Thanks Shay! You’ve got a pretty great site yourself
The drummer’s name must be read : Gotou Hiroki (and not Daiki). They are great !
Thanks John – corrected the article. Reading Kanji is definitely not my strength!
Hello again. You have all the name correctly written, but I forget to write that you misplaced Gotou Hiroki (Gôtô) on bass. He is the drummer. ANd Fujiwara Hiroshi is the bassist. Sohey (”Sôhei” is better Hepburn transcription though) is the leader, composer, singer and guitarist of the band.
Hello again.
You got the right names but :
Gôtô Hiroki is the drummer and Fujiwara Hiroshi (the guy with glasses) is the bassist.
Oyamada Sôhei is indeed the leader, composer and guitarist/main vocal of this wonderful band.
You should make a review of the 2nd album wich will be released on february the 3rd. This album is great (will be for you !).