Tokyo dreampoppers Moon In June have rightly been spending this year promoting their second album 色彩を持たないで, which came out back in April, so it was a bit of a surprise to see them promoting the release on a new 7″ single that came out last week that is, in fact, anything but new. Put out by label/DJ/J-enthusiast Tokyo Beatnik, “Summer Pop ’97″/”Robert” features a single from their 2022 EP Evergreen and the opening track from their 2023 debut album
ロマンと水色の街.

Tokyo Beatnik says:

The idea for this release came after discovering the impressive and talented band on Spotify, reaching out to them, and partnering with @diwproductsgroup to press this record via @toyokasei

@Tokyobeatniks

And in the listing page for the single, they describe the two selections in glowing terms:

Side A’s “Summer Pop ’97” is a radiant pop tune, marked by sun-drenched, sparkling guitar work and a nostalgic melody. With its breezy beat and uplifting chord progressions, the song naturally lifts the listener’s spirits and evokes a sense of bright, carefree joy.

On Side B, “Robert” begins with a quiet arpeggio, gradually layering delicate and wistful melodies that swell into a powerful emotional wave. Its intricate arrangement reveals new imagery with every listen, making it a deeply resonant and immersive track.

Moon In June @ Tokyo Beatniks

A video for the song was released when evergreen first came out, and on gross, wintry days like today it’s a very welcome dose of Summer for the eyes and ears.

And there’s no shortage of live clips of the band performing the song live, but for audio and video quality, I’ll just go with this clip from Daytrip in Nagoya this past July:

And the mandatory guitar cover video, this one covering the lead bits courtesy of Su, who actually plays guitar in Moon In June… so these are probably accurate.