Lamp is a Japanese music group formed in 2000 which consists of three members total. Singers Nagai Yusuke and Sakakibara Kaori perform the band’s vocals while guitarist Someya Taiyo provides many of their acoustic and light production.

Releasing a total of eight albums so far in their career, their latest release was in 2020 being a collaborative project with fellow Japanese artist Kaede. Throughout their 20+ years together, they have maintained a relatively underground level of success, but have garnered enough attention from fans to tour not only their home country of Japan, but also other countries such as China, Taiwan, South Korea and many more.

Their music style is unique drawing inspiration from multiple genres such as Brazilian music and Western pop of the 60’s and 70’s, making their music fun and hard to categorize under the label of one specific genre. Their uniqueness helps bring freshness to all the music they make and their catchy melodies paired with nice acoustic production ties everything together nicely. 

After recently discovering their music, there hasn’t been a day that has gone by where at least one of their catchy melodies has not been stuck in my head. Aside from a couple single songs here and there, I have only scratched the surface with Lamp, beginning with their 2004 release “For Lovers.”

A short eight song LP, the album has a little over a half-hour runtime, though in that short amount of time they do not fail to deliver. The titular opening track is a somber intro which helps you ease into the listening experience with crisp yet timid primary and background vocals over simple guitar chords. The second track “HIROGARU-NAMIDA” sees a total mood switch to an optimistic and lighthearted song, and the album continues to flip-flop back and forth between music styles and the emotions conveyed through the instrumentation and vocals, even if you are unable to understand what it is they are saying. The album begins to slow down and become more somber once again towards its end, with tracks such as “Rainy Tapestry” and “Behind The Moon Shadow” being slower, more intimate songs sonically.

The best way I could think to describe this album would be an eclectic masterpiece of art, as none of the album fails to impress me whenever I go back to listen. The instrumentation is phenomenal and the vocals are equally as good, and you can really see the creativity and excitement the band has for music on full display here. The two main vocalists pair together perfectly, and whenever any of them use their talent with instruments, it pairs just as well with the vocals as if there was a third person singing along. The nice subtle details which you only begin to notice once you reach your third or fourth listen help to make the listening experience even better.

Overall, I highly recommend listening to this album, as I feel there is something in the album for everyone, whether it be the vocals, instrumentation or pure artistry of the album, as the care and effort which went into the project is tangible to music fans. My favorite song is without a doubt “Last Train At 25 O’Clock,” the third track on the record. An upbeat jazzy song, it just makes you want to get up and dance along to the song. The melody is super catchy and the instrumentation and vocals are truly incredible. Though this song is definitely my favorite, the rest of the album manages to maintain that same level of quality throughout its run, and I definitely recommend you give it a listen.

Album Rating: 10/10 (Highly Recommend)