The Japanese Girl — Sonic-Shaped Life

The Japanese Girl is a Portuguese band formed in late December 2013 by Bruno Sousa, Corinna Sousa, and Emanuel Cunha. Starting with two guitars, an organ, and vintage drum machines, they immediately forged a raw and powerful sound somewhere between garage rock and psych lo-fi, and have since been joined by a drummer hammering through their opiated layers of reverb. Their intense, noise-filled live performances are accompanied by mysterious visual elements, and in addition to their own shows as headliners the band has played with Jacco Gardner, The Wand, and Girls Names, and as part of the Reverence Festival Party. In early 2015 they recorded their debut album, Sonic-Shaped Life. It was put down on tape at Estudios Sa da Bandeira in Porto, Portugal, by Claudio Tavares and Joao Brandao and mastered by Miguel Pinheiro Marques at SDB Mastering. Lead single You Should Have Switches, released in September 2015 (MR 7271EP), gave the first clues about their own brand of hypnotic rock, where pulsating psychedelia, droney garage, and shimmering, trippy pop provide the setting for haunting compositions, catchy hooks, and engaging melodies. Over the course of ten tracks, the band sounds commanding in the darker passages and punked-up outbursts, while shining in the more sunny moments; the flow and pace of the album make for a wholly entrancing listen.