This is another post that I had sort of queued up for while I was on vacation, but it was in a far less complete state than the last one, and only tangentially met the brief. しろつめ備忘録 – which translates to “Shirotsume Bibōroku” or “Shirtosume’s Boboroku” but are just generally called Shirtosume hail from Tokyo and are more general indie rock than especially shoegaze-adjacent, but they’ve been one of the heaviest rotation new bands in my listening. Their 2024 mini-album Reminder is full of very catchy, pleasantly fuzzy guitar pop and, having failed to find a copy of last year’s Snorkel EP in person while in Japan, I immediately ordered one on returning home.
Procrastinating getting the post done, however, has sadly made it more timely. In an Instagram post yesterday, the band posted a message that I haven’t been able to translate because it’s screenshotted Japanese text, but the general gist of it is that the band will be going on hiatus following a final show in July. Having dived into the world of Japanese music head first a few years ago, I’m certainly aware of the short life cycle of many great acts – they form in school but eventually real life takes over – but I’m only now seeing it happen in real time (I just saw that another band I really like is going on hiatus as well. Sad times – look for that tribute post soonish).
And because I just came across it, here’s an interview with the band in December 2017, probably high on the release of Reminder:
And another from last month – translated to English – at KAON, which certainly doesn’t sound like they’re thinking about calling it quits but these things just happen:
Exclusive Interview: Shirotsume Bibouroku @ KAON
So as an introduction and farewell, though I may post some more from them in the future, here’s 『最近なんだか』, which appears translated to English as “Feel Uneasy”, the A-side to their debut single in 2023. The video cuts the slow drum intro of the recorded version to jump right into things, even though the camera barely moves for the first three minutes.
And a couple of live recordings of the song – the first from 2023 at Tokyo’s Loft Heaven and another from September 2025 at DAY TRIP in Nagoya.
