While I did say that 2019 was very much a year of paying more attention to as much music coming out of the scene as possible…nobody’s perfect folks. It wasn’t until my trip to Tokyo last November and seeing Shihatsumachi Underground performing a couple of times on different shows that I really sat up and took notice of them. It’s a good thing that I did too as their self-titled debut album “Shihatsumachi Underground” actually ended up being one of my favorite album releases of 2019. The mix of dark themes with throwback Pop styles made for a very entertaining listen and by the time the album was over I was left with a strong feeling of wanting more. Sure it’s a little bit pretentious in places but I think it has every right to be based on the quality of material that’s on offer here. Full Review
