One of the things I like most about Japanese shoegaze bands is that, by and large, the bands come with a very strong identity and aesthetic – and not just because they almost all still take the trouble to come up with logos.

Case in point, Plant Cell, which began as the project of Masaki Sato, describes themselves as “Japan harmony with nature shoegaze orchestra” on their Bandcamp, “Like a landscape painting” on their Twitter, and as “characterized by abstract shoegaze sounds themed around flowers, plants, and natural landscapes” on their official bio. And while this might seem like so much word soup to just read it, listening to any of their three albums – particularly this year’s Botanical – and you actually get it. They DO sound like shoegaze inspired by the wonder of nature and their songs really do sound like flowering vines bursting out of your speakers. No, really.

“Summer on Route 134” was the second single from Botanical, and was described as follows:

It is a summer greeting song based on the scenery of Route 134 along the coast of Shonan. This ambitious work is a city pop shoegaze sound of the ancient city of Kamakura and the seaside scenes of the 80’s. This summer, plant cell will continue to paint landscapes with sound.

Plant Cell
Plant Cell – “Summer on Route 134” @ Bandcamp

The listing page also includes the chords to the song, if you want to play along!

Unlike many of their peers, Plant Cell don’t just release singles and EPs; each of their three full-lengths have been expansive in both scope and duration. It makes their output a little less immediately digestable – that vocalist Erikoro sings in a Cocteaus-esque style that might well be the language of plants might also require a bit of work – but the melodies and pure joyousness of their songs are ultimately irresistible.

And they dress up like plants when playing live! Why not!