Supercar

So I decided that even though a good music blog would present more obscure, rare, and unreleased tracks, I’m sadly not enough of a music nerd to be so on top of things. While I’d love to have a blog like that, I think it’d be easier and more fun to blog about music I like in general, even if it is old, has been blogged about before, or even been played on the radio (did I just say that?).

With that in mind, I’m putting up a couple songs by Japanese supergroup Supercar. While they’ve been called the “Radiohead of Japan,” I think the comparison is only meant to highlight their widespread critical and popular appeal rather than musical similarities. Formed in 1995, Supercar rapidly achieved success with their first album, Three Out Change on the Sony label. Supercar’s sophomore release, Jump Up, also fared well on the Japanese charts, and despite several more successful releases, the band split up in 2005.

For those who haven’t heard Supercar before, I think you’ll like the combination of guitar-driven tracks and pop sensibilities. While you can definitely hear the sugary influence of J-pop in the melodies, it’s Supercar’s unique sound and their playing that sets them apart. That said, “My Girl” and “Wonder Word” are among my favorite Supercar songs, particularly because of singer Koji Nakamura’s understated vocals on “My Girl” and the warm, upbeat rhythm of “Wonder Word.” By the way, can anyone make sense of the video?

[MP3] Supercar :: My Girl
[MP3] Supercar :: Wonder Word

Supercar Website

|bruce banner|