There are always things to keep this Monk busy. Idleness rarely enters the picture. In early March of this year I got the email that announced the “Don’t Dry Your Eyes” single by faves Fluid Japan, but that was in the final weeks before the big vacation we took in Europe. I was frantically raising funds and making plans for the time overseas. I bought the single and downloaded the file but never added it to my collection. Then in April was the trip itself. By the time we got home and recovered our senses in May, I’d lost the plot.

It was some time last month when I realized that I’d had the DL file on my media volume and made the solemn vow to actually listen to it! <insert gap of several weeks> Today is the day when we review it! As well as the two mixes of the subsequent single, that I’d still not even purchased until last night because I was out of town the weekend of release [I always use the main computer for buying from Bandcamp, not my phone] for the big Totally Tubular Festival in Raleigh! And finally, the band’s latest single dropped yesterday…and this morning I downloaded all of the new purchases put all of this music on my personal device for listening to right now…shall we begin?

DON’T DRY YOUR EYES

Over the powerful drum machine, samples rippled outward like raindrops breaking the surface tension of water. Then the tar pit bass line pulled us in like prime Derek Forbes from the title track of “Sons + Fascination.” Heather Heimbuch’s backing vocals cast their spell as Todd Lewis’s phased, multilayered vocals became as one with the layers of synth and the rhythm guitar. Tantalizingly just out of reach as the rhythm guitar licks shot effulgent bursts through the almost nebulous mix.

The airiness of the production and the near-haiku of the impressionistic lyrics were contrasted heavily by the grounded presence of the song’s rhythms. The resulting trance/dance rock managed to be both ambient and psychedelic while being very much a dance floor creation. One needed to hear this one on a club sound system.

WHEN YOUR HEART IS A SUICIDE [SHINAGAWA MIX]

Solitary and mournful string synths redolent of “Trans Europe Express” and held court for a few bars then the urgent drum programming and electric piano kicked in with a subdued late night groove. Glassy synths with endless sustain illuminated long corridors of sound. The infectious chorus managed to inject a little light into the proceedings while never fully breaking the song’s melancholic spell. The snarling tone of the guitar solo in the middle eight managed to re-assert the song’s dark glamour inherent in Walt Wistrand’s lyric.

WHEN YOUR HEART IS A SUICIDE [SHINJUKU MIX]

The alternate mix opened with an even airier mix. This time sounding like something from John Foxx’s “Cathedral Oceans” works. Vocally there were differences with Reiko Minamigawa contributing a Japanese spoken word vocal up front and Mika providing excellent backing to support Todd Lewis’ leads. The Shinjuku Mix aired out the verses and choruses to let the groove breathe even more. Giving this mix a vibe that recalled the glassy elegance of The Blue Nile’s “Stay.” Particularly with the bass synth and drum machine interplay.

ALWAYS

Languid guitar chords from the Robin Guthrie playbook formed liquid pools of sound in which dissonant samples, some sounding like shortwave drift, others like the sound of tearing, removed any solid ground below us during the long buildup to the crux of the song. Heather Heimbuch added her expression vocals, drenched in reverb, to add to the song’s viscosity as Todd Lewis began to sing the song’s single verse. His deep bass pulling us even further under the surface of the water in this deep cut here.

If you’ve been collecting the songs that Fluid Japan have been drip feeding us in the last year, this places us nine songs into what might be a full album’s worth of deeply atmospheric and accomplished music. With a tenth song in the second mix of “When Your Heart Is A Suicide.” If I’m citing influences like The Blue Nile, Simple Minds, and The Cocteau Twins, we know we’re in good hands here! It’s exciting to hear a band with this much taste and talent going for exactly the kind of elegant and sophisticated musical target that I can’t help but capitulate to. How I could have used this band in the 90s, but even in the 20s it’s luxury we can all afford.

I mean this literally, since currently, the band’s entire oeuvre [12 releases!] in Bandcamp is currently on sale for a bargainous $3.90, which includes the Jan Linton “Melatonin” EP that Todd Lewis contributed significantly to. Of course you may “top up” your payment beyond that decidedly insubstantial asking price. Afterward, you can sequence and burn your own Fluid Japan CD, complete with generous bonus tracks! I know that some of the regulars here also join us in supporting this band’s fine works. At that price one would be slightly mad not to! DJ hit that button!

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