The Tokyo psychedelic voyagers and Guruguru Brain label masterminds Kikagaku Moyo are about to go on indefinite hiatus. But first, they’ll grace us with another platter of transcendent exploratory guitar jams and one last year of touring. The band’s fifth and final album Kumoyo Island is dropping in May, followed by several months of shows around the world.
Although Kikagaku Moyo had been working out of their adopted hometown of Amsterdam, they recorded Kumoyo Island back home in Tokyo’s Asakusabashi neighborhood while the Dutch were under lockdown and touring was largely on pause around the world. Today they’ve shared its lead single, a four-minute shapeshifter called “Cardboard Pile.” Despite the prosaic title, the song kicks off with a minute and a half of exhilarating ascent, then levels off into a head-bob groove strewn with guitar curlicues and regal brass. The latter half of the song is just begging to be sampled by some hip-hop producer.
Listen below, and check out Kikagaku Moyo’s tour dates here.
TRACKLIST:
01 “Monaka”
02 “Dancing Blue”
03 “Effe”
04 “Meu Mar”
05 “Cardboard Pile”
06 “Gomugomu”
07 “Daydream Soda”
08 “Field of Tiger Lillies”
09 “Yayoi Iyayoi”
10 “Nap Song”
11 “Maison Silk Road”
Kumoyo Island is out 5/6 on Guruguru Brain. Pre-order it here.
