SHINTARO SAKAMOTO Schallplatten & CDs

Review: The fifth solo album by Japanese musician Shintaro Sakamoto, the former leader of psychedelic rock band Yura Yura Teikoku and later prolific solo musician, comes in the form of Like A Fable: a round-numbered compendium inspired by both international music styles and Sakamoto's isolation during the COVID lockdowns. This tension between local and regional makes for a well-rounded album; our fellow Brits might recall the cute and brassy productions of Jameszoo in it initially dreamy refrains, but things soon grow pretty characteristically Japanese, with 'You Still OK' providing an unmistakable Shibuya feel, which continues the charge from thereon. A meditation on isolated romance, the album ends on as funky a note as it began on, 'The Whereabouts Of Romance', which is its by far its most distinctive contribution and a beautifully slide-guitarred conclusion.