Doronco Gumo – “Old Punks” – [Dilettante Music Publishing]

Tokyo-based Doronco Gumo has an impressive pedigree, with Doronco lending his bass playing chops to Les Rallizes Denudes (as well as Suishou no Fune and DAS). On this 2008 Japanese release, “Old Punks,” he’s joined by members of Maher Shalal Hash Baz for some interesting Japanese rock. Hints of psych, surf rock, art rock, and a bit of the late 70s creep in to the songs; many with a talk-sing approach and some with female vocals. It’s slow and plodding and is accented by minimalistic bassoon, trumpet, and piano. It ends with Mirai No Hitomi, a piece with a ghostly Joy Division presence embedded in it.

An LP version of this was recently released in the U.S. (with an additional track) on Holy Mountain.