Get Your Toes Wet

I need some sort of daily activity, or just something to write about, so I think I'm going to post and review some of my favorite Japanese music groups. Today I'll just say a few words about my favorite of them all, toe.

Toe is one of those bands that can catch people off guard with just how different they are, while being the same as everyone else at the same time. Drums, drums, drums. Yes, toe's drummer Kashikura Takashi is one of the most talented and fun to listen to drummers in the post-rock genre. Their songs tend to invoke a sense of nostalgia and relaxation, but the dynamics of their song structures give you so much to listen to. Being an instrumental 4-piece, they face the challenge of overcoming your boredom, and they do it phenomenally.

This particular song, C, you'll hear the brilliance of Kashikura Takashi come rolling out with an interesting set tom clicks. I think it's one of the coolest sounding drum beats I've ever heard. From there on it's clean guitars and good vibes. They have an almost jam-band element to them, in that they never really repeat a bar, especially on drums, and they improvise quite a lot. This song was filmed for their first DVD entitled RGB, and it is a joy to watch if you enjoy this sort of music.

Please listen warmly, and enjoy.