#pasteboard

1/6/26.

I really had no idea what to expect with this release. It comes from a Los Angeles based record label, 7th Heaven. And the name? Roly Poly Rag Bear? I almost didn't even listen to it.

But, I immediately knew I was listening to some great Japanese indie pop. Turns out "Ryan's Favorite" is a reissue - originally issued in 2003 on Nagoya, Japan label abcdefg*record.

Roly Poly Rag Bear were a duo (Makoto Igarashi and Mihoko Tanoue) inspired by Teenage Fanclub and BMX Bandits. I can't imagine Stephen Pastel (The Pastels) doesn't love this music. In addition to Roly Poly Rag Bear (Saitama, Japan...a bit north of Tokyo), the duo was also known for the band Pasteboard.

the japanese shoegaze band with only one album sadface

An extremely "my jam" style of article: going through what remains o the online and print presence of a one-album-in-2005 Japanese postrock/shoegaze band Pasteboard. A band wholly forgotten by 2007, except over the years a tiny following overseas discovered them and was drawn to them as a lost treasure. I get why; they are from the era of post-rock's peak, but also a time where the genre was a bit noisier, more aggressive, yet they are far more restrained than their contemporaries. So many of their songs have a focus on just a few chords or progressions that would maybe have been 'simplistic' for their time but in the modern lo-fi era really hits home. But anyway, they remastered the album and even did a vinyl run (which I missed, alas). The article hits those "how the old internet worked" notes well.

It also features this really evocative piece of art, which is animated in the article:

While I understand some of the appeal – and thus the adoration – of Glitter, I don’t quite feel the same way. Too many of the tracks are a little too lethargic, too style-and-atmosphere over the rest.