Eddie Marcon - Yahho no Potori

Arriving in tandem with the heatwave it seemed we'd never get this year is a rare internationally distributed record by the impossibly sweet, long-running Japanese duo, Eddie Marcon.  Originally afforded a domestic, CD-only release back in 2009 by Majikick, A Colourful Storm have faithfully reproduced Yahho No Potori for a first-time vinyl run that provides a great introduction to Eddie Corman and Jules Marcon's loping, jazz-inclined folk music. This is music on which the sun is always rising, of open windows on to summer lawns where songs arrive on the gentlest of breezes and stick around long after the day is done. Delicacy and intimacy are the key currencies, the Japanese language lyrics no barrier for understanding - Corman's voice is bracingly emotive and sincere, the kind of fearless communicating that finds power in the soft touch, as if to say, "there's no need to shout; i know just how to reach you". Long time WOE followers will perhaps remember the band from the vital Minna Miteru compilation from 2020 (good luck tracking that one down if you missed it first time out), and their track from that record, 'Toratolion', is also featured here. It's no surprise to see it picked as a calling card, a centerpiece type moment that seems to distill all their best qualities into five startling minutes of sing-song heartbreak, where its comparatively subtle arrangement disguises a complex emotional range. If you've spent even just a little amount of time with and enjoyed the likes of Maher Shalal Hash Bar, Nagisa Ni Te or Reiko Kudo, then you're in essential territory here. As ever, the Japanese underground remains a forever-giving, independent force.