TAMIW - Farewell Party (Niwer Records) 
Release Date: Out Now
Japanese outfit TAMIW dropped this album, 'Farewell Party', recently and I've been sitting on it, waiting for a chance to give it my proper attention and, folks, that time has arrived. We start with the atmospheric piano melody of 'Silent Letter' which builds slowly, surely, and delicately like the layers of a croissant into the sound of hope and regeneration. 'Anthem of Sutra' picks up the baton, flips the script and gives us a throbbing, grungy bass groove with heavenly yet electronic melodics soaring high above only to make way for subdued vocals, low in the mix, to join the party. The five minute opus erupts volcanically before the more conventional sound of 'Deep'n'Shallow' hits us with an LA 90s beat and the kind of groove that puts an extra strut in your step.
Following the first of two interludes (this one is percussive and oddly hypnotic), TAMIW get the guitars out for 'We Are Not Friends' which harks back to bands like the Sugar Cubes, Whale and Brassy (all of which I loved btw). On 'Pay Me Back!!' things get even more creative with horns, woozy vocals and more of that delicious percussive focus while 'Sudan' breaks out some unexpected fiddle matched with a drone bass sound and a gnarly guitar solo. The key with this album is to expect the unexpected, open your mind to anything and everything, and enjoy the buffet of styles, influences and instrumentation. For instance, the band bump into SHIMMY waiting for the spring rolls and create 'Run The World', a dark hip-hop track with elements of Arcade Fire lurking in the shadows.
'A.H.O.' ripples and bounces like a Cosmo Sheldrake cut with the occasional dog bark and super chilled rapping from TamiKeem before the second interlude cleanses our palates with a sombre and meandering piano piece. The final track proper on this album is 'Overcome' which leaves us floating high over digital clouds as if watching our lives scroll past us below our hologram wings. If you buy the CD then you'll also get the bonus track '3 Stupid Thieves', featuring the funkiest bass line on the album and some blissful vocals in between the jazz influenced guitars. One of my favourite pass times is making fantasy gig line ups to see which bands I could match together and the brilliance of TAMIW is that they could fit on to almost any bill and, if you stop to give them your undivided attention, they will win you over. That's a Listen With Monger guarantee.
More information: https://www.instagram.com/tamiw_band/
Live Dates:
15th June - FS.Shibuya, Tokyo JAPAN (free entry with CD or LP purchase)
29th June - hidden place, Osaka JAPAN (free entry with CD or LP purchase