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Shugo Tokumaru is not (as many reviewers have assessed) the Japanese Sufjan Stevens. He may share some of Stevens' fascination with found instruments and eccentric acoustic arrangements, but that's where the similarities end. Tokumaru, in general, seems to go much deeper into his own musical world -- playing with sounds more and taking ideas much further. If comparisons must be made, it would better describe Tokumaru's trajectory to align him with the likes of a less predictable pop experimenters like Lindsey Buckingham. Like Buckingham, Tokumaru's songs can sound deceptively simple on the surface, but closer listening reveals a very sophisticated musician at work. Anyone can layer instruments on top of one another (and, with the advent of digital home recording, often to a ludicrous level), but it takes a real talent to sort out how they should fit together. This is where Tokumaru shines, especially on his album Exit -- a home-recorded affair that flirts with indulgence but rarely succumbs to it. That's an important point because a song like Exit's opener, "Parachute" -- with its multi-layered fingerpicked guitar propulsion and more melody lines than you can shake a stick at -- could have been just a predictable lo-fi mélange had someone else been at the helm.
CONDITION: NEW! DRILLED CASE!
TRACK LISTINGS
1 Parachute
2 Green Rain
3 Clocca
4 Future Umbrella
5 Button
6 Sanganichi
7 D.P.O.
8 Hidamari
9 La la Radio
10 Wedding
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