FRUIT OF ERRATA

Double LP version. Gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves; includes three bonus tracks; 28-page booklet; includes download code; edition of 500. Following in the footsteps of the pathbreaking Minna Miteru (MORR 168CD/LP, 2020) compilation of Japanese indie music, Morr Music and Alien Transistor have again joined forces to release The Fruit Of Errata, a compilation introducing the world to the intimate DIY pop of yumbo. Led by songwriter, pianist, and occasional vocalist Koji Shibuya, the Japanese band has released four albums since forming in 1998. This compilation draws from those albums, and some ancillary releases, to uncover a biographical narrative of yumbo, showing how Shibuya's songwriting, and the group's limber, sensitive playing, has developed over the decades. It also places them squarely within a tradition of home-spun but ambitious Japanese pop that takes in Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Tenniscoats, Nagisa Ni Te, Yuzo Iwata, Kazumi Nikaido, and more. There's the playful seriousness of Maher Shalal Hash Baz's Tori Kudo here, but also the flexibility of freely improvised music. You can also hear Shibuya's fondness for Mayo Thompson and The Red Crayola in both the idiosyncrasies of the writing and the egalitarian looseness of the playing. The great achievement of yumbo and Shibuya, though, is translating all of this into beautiful, unpredictable pop songs. There's a gorgeous soul-inflected lilt to A House; the swaying brass on Storm; the nakedness of The Sweetest Mass slightly reminiscent of Carla Bley's more pop-focused writing. Throughout, Shibuya renders pop a deeply personal experience; you can hear musings here on friendship, family, intimacy, the complexity of relationships, mortality, and imbalances of power. These musings are also shadowed by real-life events: the effects and impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 are captured in songs like Umbrella People from Onibi. Throughout the performances on The Fruit Of Errata, Shibuya and the group play with tenderness; they also often draw on other players to flesh out the music even further, two such guests being the aforementioned Tori Kudo (on Umbrella People) and Olympia, Washington's LAKE (on The Devil Song). Community-minded and generous in approach, the writing of Shibuya and the music of yumbo is never less than lovely, and The Fruit Of Errata is a welcome introduction to their world. Open and gentle, confident and generous, these pop songs are filled with charm and spirit. ?1.01. 九月の歌 / September Song (2:19)?1.02. 家 / A House (3:59)?1.03. 間違いの実 / The Fruit of Errata (5:31)?1.04. 強い風 / Storm (4:30)?1.05. ケーキ / Cake (3:32)?1.06. さみしい / Lonely (5:38)?1.07. ある日以降、その他 / Since a Certain Day, Others (4:44)?1.08. 甘い塊 / The Sweetest Mass (5:09)?1.09. シブヤくん / Shibuya-kun (5:35)*??2.01. サーフィン / Surfin' (4:38)*?2.02. これが現実だ / That's Reality (4:28)?2.03. 来たれ、死よ / Come Away, Death (4:58)?2.04. 石が降る / Raining Stones (4:32)?2.05. 鬼火 / Onibi (4:28)?2.06. 悪魔の歌 / The Devil Song (12 Edit) (6:12)?2.07. 失敗を抱きしめよう / Let's Hug Failure (6:14)*?2.08. 人々の傘 / Umbrella People (6:27)?2.09. 実在する世の中 / The World Exists (3:38)??*Double-LP bonus track.