Rounding out this edition of the roundup (heh) is Regal Lily, a 3-piece girl band that I’ve been following casually for maybe 4 years now. In that time they’ve released several mini-albums, toured a fair bit overseas and were due to cap the promotion cycle for this, their first full album “bedtime story” with a show at Mynavi Blitz Akasaka before COVID had other plans. Often characterized as Shoegaze, for me I’d say their sound is more along the lines of fuzzed out, abstract Indie Pop but whatever floats your boat. Great examples of this can be heard on songs such as “Hana Hikari” or the delightful ear-bending “Neko no guitar”, though the album also offers up some more conventional offerings like the wonderfully melodic “1997” or “Hansie”. The band have said in interviews that individualism and taking control of your own destiny are big themes on this release and so far it seems like they’re living up to those ideals both musically and as people.
