Before Sunrise

After exploring bedroom production under the name ANNA on a few scattered tracks, Tokyo-based artist Nana Yamato switched to her given name for her first full-length release, Before Sunrise, a collection that skitters between electronic impulses and bursts of energetic, guitar-based indie rock. The album was written and recorded in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Yamatos usually bustling Tokyo home was locked down and eerily quiet. There are hints of that unsettled stillness in the lonely moods of songs like Leaving, which joins warped shoegaze guitar textures with obtuse Breeders-esque melodies, and the melancholic synth pop opener Do You Wanna. Yamatos introduction to independent music culture came when she was in high school and happened upon an Iceage record at a local shop. While Before Sunrise never gets as volatile as early Iceage, the spirit of untethered creative exploration carries over as Yamato shifts quickly from the triumphant MIDI horn lines of Burning Desire to playful singsong verses on Fantasy, to slick radio-ready grooves on the title track. With all vocals, programming, and guitar performed solely by Yamato, the album has an insular feel to it. Theres a sense of joyful discovery that comes in hearing her try out different ideas on every track, ranging from aching M83/Wild Nothing-inspired sentiments to damaged guitar tones that recall Mac DeMarco and St. Vincents more out-there excursions. Nothing is off limits, and clean production emphasizes Yamatos wilder turns. Existing somewhere between the solitude and daydreams, Before Sunrise constructs a world of its own full of unexpected twists and distant beauty. ~ Fred Thomas

NANA名義で7インチ・シングルを発表してきた大和那南が20歳を迎え、原宿のBIG LO-VEとNYのDull Toolの2レーベルから送り出すデビュー作。簡素な打ち込みとギター、飾り気のない歌が織り成す楽曲群はポスト・パンク流のDIYなアティテュードに貫かれたすこぶるシンプルなものだが、繊細な手つきで積み重ねた音像と丁寧なソングライティングで聴き手を引き付ける。どこか寄る辺なく、かつ凛とした佇まいが美しい。
bounce (C)澤田大輔