Miminokoto

Miminokoto’s first album is remarkable for the way it oscillates between chiming guitar psychedelics and burnt, downturned blues meandering. Much of the power of the performances here comes from singer and guitarist Masami Kawaguchi, who’d already made his name in the Japanese underground with his prior group, Broomdusters. A scholar of the blues, he’d also learned a thing or two about textural overload thanks to his apprenticeship with Keiji Haino in the latter’s covers group, Aihiyo. Kawaguchi applies that knowledge with a light touch here – his songs are more direct, more open to the listener, and his voice is a unique thing, with a keening lament at its core. The first in a run of superlative Japanese underground psych albums from this trio – at least, up until Kawaguchi left the group.