Another act spoken of in hushed tones when speaking of Japanese shoegaze is Shojoskip, though until recently following up on their praise has been a bit tough. The co-ed outfit formed in 2007 and while streaming services have long had their two 2008 releases – Sweet Days and Her Last Kiss, their split album with My Dead Girlfriend and EP Soramame – their one and only album Cosodorokitsune from 2012 had been absent from anywhere save YouTube (not my favourite place to listen to albums) – until last month. And now that that last barrier to enjoying it has been removed, I can say – “wow”.
They describe themselves on their website as:
Shojo Skip is a band based in Tokyo. Influenced by a wide variety of music, including US indie, alternative, post-rock, and shoegaze, they create a unique, floating sound that is pop, emotional, gentle, and nostalgic.
http://www.syoujyoskip.com/
And as broad as that sounds, it’s actually pretty accurate. They take their time building musical structures like post-rock acts, but rather than aiming to create DRAMA with it, they invoke the gentle nostalgia of the best shoegaze and dreampop acts. They also excel at compact, vocal-led pop songs as much as sprawling instrumentals – as I enjoy the hell out of Cosodorokitsune, I can’t help but be reminded of the restless creativity of early aughts Yo La Tengo – some of the highest praise I can offer.
But unlike Yo La Tengo’s multi-decade career, Shojoskip disappeared after just the one and a half releases. While their website remains up and their Twitter, at least, remains active posting bits about music and movies, they’ve not played a show since 2017. Most likely they, like so many before and after them, simply moved on with their lives outside of music and so we will just have to appreciate and enjoy what works they’ve left behind.
That includes a single video from Cosodorokitsune for one of its peppiest numbers, a Soundcloud containing a variety of rough demos, and a YouTube channel with some fan-shot live footage from their heyday, including the song of the day from a 2011 gig at clubQue in Shimokitazawa.
It’s not in the set list for the 2011 Koenji High gig that Tokyo shoegaze evangelists Only Feedback cut together for part of their History Of Japanese Shoegaze mini-documentary series, but it’s such a great little doc that I’ll include it regardless.
