Sambomaster

In a way Sambomaster is like the Modest Mouse of Japan. They're a strange rock band that has somehow risen to immense fame without changing their approach to music. Walking around the streets of Shibuya in Tokyo their videos would appear on big video screens on the sides of high-rises, their songs were in soft-drink commercials, and their new single was on display at every record store across the city (more on the new single some other day).

I've been listening to their album "Sambomaster Wa Kimi ni Katari Kakeru" non-stop since I got home from Japan 3 days ago. It's incredibly inspirational and sentimental, while at the same time being rowdy and gross (in a good way! I often call music I like gross). It's an awesome mix of anthemic indie rock with funky horns, like a weird new incarnation of James Brown in a nerdy Japanese dude's body.

Their website can be found HERE.