I’ve covered shoegaze and dreampop from more than a few Asian locales, but so far nothing from Thailand – let’s fix that! Lesssugär is a four-piece who released their debut mini-album Internet Teenage Lover last year, and as introductions go, it’s an impressive one.

They hew more towards the dreampop end of things, favouring cleaner guitar tones and lush reverbs, but set themselves apart with a pronounced sense of fun in their music. While some of their genre peers might prefer to lie in the sun daydreaming or hide in a dark room illuminated by guitar pedal LEDs (not judging!), they have a vibe of, “hey it’s Saturday night, let’s go out!”.

That’s not necessarily at the fore of either of the singles they released videos for – “trynafindyou” and “Kate” showcase their textural and twee sides, respectively – but the live version of “wanna get hurt” recorded on tour in Japan this past April and cut together by their label P-Vine captures the cool that sets them apart some.

They’ve released a couple more standalone singles this year, but the EP remains the best first introduction to the band.

As a relatively new act, not to mention being from the other side of the world, there’s not a lot of press to share but there is this English-language interview at A-Indie, that amongst other things explains the origins of their name (if not the umlaut):

Tell me about your band name. Why did you choose the name “Lesssugär” for your band, and what does it mean?
Our studio moment was unexpectedly sparked by a simple sight. We were sitting in front of the studio and found a Coca-Cola bottle bearing the words “Less Sugar.” Inspired by this encounter, we found our name!!

What is Lesssugar, the leader of the Thai indie scene? @ A-Indie