Michio Kurihara: Sunset Notes

Label: 20/20/20

In the spirit of a true romantic, Michio Kurihara drew inspiration from watching the sun melt from orange into a black sea of shiny specks. In Sunset Notes each song is paired with his poetic scribbles and the date and time of the sunset that inspired them. The resulting CD is an eclectic mix of songs. Some sunsets call for an epic, moody eight-minute-long ballad, while others are scored with Eno-ish ambient sounds. The macho violence of distorted guitar plays itself out in “Do Deep Sea Fish Dream of Electric Moles?”, but “Wind Waltzes” and “The Wind’s Twelve Quarters” achieve the breathy, aloof sounds of lounge pop from the 60s. The former guitarist for Ghost, Kurihara is a key figure in Japanese underground rock. And this CD (like Ghost) channel 70s English psychedelic rock and is full of heroic guitar and prog-inspired synth. (Margi)