“Influenced by Kinoko Teikoku” is basically a J-gaze subgenre – or maybe a synonym – and one of the current leading lights of that style is Hammer Head Shark, a Tokyo quartet especially good at their forebear’s combination of sonic aggression and angsty vocals, with a healthy dose of snotty youthful rebellion added for good measure.

They’ve been making their name with a series of EPs and singles since 2020 – no full-length yet – and their latest single just came out last week. Maybe I’ll get to that later, but will for now make introductions with this 2022 single which accentuates their gentler side, but don’t be fooled. They rip when the need to/want to.