Cream Colour Vinyl

Tracklist:

1. Beyond Compare
2. Step On Up
3. Meant To Be
4. Possibilities
5. Things
6. That’s Fate
7. Adventure
8. The Summer of Love
9. Stars Don’t Lie
10. Lemonade Sunset
11. Magnificent
12. Blame It On Your Smile

Legendary indie travellers Half Japanese return with their new album Adventure. The prolific outsider combo, helmed by the ever-optimistic Jad Fair, delivers a heartwarming set of upbeat sonnets celebrating the power of love, affection, and maturity.

More than 50 years since Jad and his brother David emerged from their lo-fi bedroom in Uniontown, Maryland, USA, Adventure takes the latest incarnation of the band down new and more refined avenues. Recorded in London at Vacant TV and produced by Jason Willett and Jad, Adventure presents a more pristine and polished canvas for Jad to expand upon. The addition of Euan Hinshelwood to the sonic palette, with saxophone, harmonica, and piano, creates a smoother backdrop for the bands less lubricated sound.

Lemonade Sunset is an ode to the world of wonder, a spacious overture built with melancholy in mind but relishing the positivity of life. By contrast, Step On Up revolves around a glorious rising piano motif that hints at Steely Dan if they were high on energy drinks and spinach rather than their usual tipple. Its a light-hearted evocation of the good times.
Magnificent is a homage to living in the present tense, powered by the bittersweet saxophone, with a glorious piano-led sub-melody offsetting Jads positivity: magnificently magnificent, no less. Elsewhere, ringing percussion and sharp arrangements provide Jad with a sturdy and far reaching soundtrack to lament over. Adventure sees Half Japanese covering new ground, with Jads considered soliloquies set in a sumptuous setting.