Emerging Japanese dream pop band, Luby Sparks, is making waves in the global indie scene and played Shibuya’s WWW off the back of their recently released EP (I’m) Lost in Sadness. They were supported by Korean shoegazers Say Sue Me who have been impressing audiences all over the world with last year’s album Where We Were Together.
Say Sue Me’s frontwoman Sumi endeared herself to the crowd with some cute Japanese chat and a slowed down, experimental rensition of Blondie’s “Dreaming.” The band’s songs are a glorious mix of indie rock, shoegaze and dream pop and the perfect match for their Japanese musical allies Luby Sparks.
Say Sue Me are a hard act to follow but Luby Sparks managed to get the crowd going with some of their standout tracks from their eponymous debut album. The Japanese/international crowd lapped it all up and many appeared to be reminiscing about their youth in the early 90s as Luby Sparks have admitted to being fans of bands such as Lush, Slowdive, Jesus and Mary Chain and the seminal British 4AD record label.
The band is young – barely out of high school but already have a pretty assured image and sound with singers Natsuki Kato and Erika Murphy dressed in white and cooly commanding the stage. A cover of The Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love” (sung with Say Sue me’s Sumi) was a nod to both bands’ love of British indie music. Dream pop and shoegaze can be low key at times but Luby Sparks mixed it up a bit with bangers such as “Life is Misery” which was one of the standout songs of the night.
Luby Sparks might well be the latest Japanese band to break into the international arena and a global music consciousness. Perfume will be playing Coachella this year and other groups such as Tenniscoats and Maher Shalal Hash Baz have been gaining acclaim and support, for years now, in countries like the UK and the US. Luby Sparks is a band to keep your eye on and the next year or so will be crucial in terms of their musical development and possibilities of breaking through into the international music market.
