It is truly a day of mourning for music lovers worldwide. (Beyond) esteemed Japanese Psych rockers Kikagaku Moyo are calling it quits, opting to go on an indefinite hiatus.
Thankfully, they’re not leaving us entirely empty-handed. Beyond an extensive worldwide tour, they’re releasing one final album: Kumoyo Island, which will be out on May 6. It’s something of a full circle moment for the band, as they gathered to record the LP at Tsubame Studios in Asakusabashi, Tokyo – the site of their earliest recordings together.
With their last effort, 2018’s Masana Temples having proven to be arguably their boldest, most expansive and exploratory album to date, there’s surely plenty to come from Kumoyo Island. As the album art’s surreal, gorgeous backdrop (which you can see below) suggests, the LP will surely be another journey into lands hitherto unexplored, but the scene lying in front of it offers a different story: the couch and collection of fruit suggest an invitation to enter, to kick back, and let the journey come to you, rather than getting lost in the dense forests of their past work.
First single “Cardboard Pile” walks this very tight rope, beginning excitingly and roughly before expanding into a tempting bed of jammed-out sound.
Check it out below or find it on streaming platforms.
Look out for Kumoyo Island come May 6th through the band’s own Guruguru Brain. You can find Kikagaku Moyo on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
