ROBIN'S EGG BLUE

Robin's Egg Blue have brought back the classic side of pop music, the side that isn't saturated by a literal pop sound in the beat. Their debut album, Circlefield, is real music. Genuine emotion, a connection to the listener, and an organic listening experience. The Japanese born duo show their roots; sounds of J-pop heavily influence the end result, but the true twist comes with the incorporation of their variety of instruments with their fantasy-based backing composition. It's an awkward delight, often remaining a little too joyous.

They Do I Do technically starts the album off, it's the first complete musical experience you'll hear. It shows everything I'm talking about rather well; the culmination of sounds and the weaving of different styles to create an air of bliss. And then it'll end with that electronic homage. It's not unsettling, it's just unexpected. What's even more unexpected is how they make it work at grand scale. Within the song it kinda fits, but as part of an album with occasional industrial references and other electronic twists, it feels complete. It creates the anticipation of a feeling that you still can't fully prepare for.

The rest of the album will follow through similarly, though with less shocking twists separating their own songs. It feels like the greenest rain forests and magical natural moments were the inspiration for the music, while the lyrics slowly revolve around that backing musical magic. It is a contained, non-intrusive sound, that can just as easily be left playing in the background as it can leave your imagination to musings. - D4AM

Robin’s Egg Blue – the duo of frontwoman/keyboardist/uke player Atsumi Ishibashi and guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Masahi Ishuira- call themselves “baroque Japanese pop.” They could also get away with calling themselves psychedelic, trip-hop or even new wave. They’ve got a smart, catchy, eclectic new album, Circlefield, streaming at Bandcamp.

The album opens with an energetically atmospheric mood piece. The first of the fullscale songs, They Do I Do, has a rising, anthemic quality, moody keys contrasting with nimble acoustic and electric guitar textures, Ishibashi singing with a brooding focus and intensity. The trippy trip-hop nocturne Edge of the Woods builds a cinematic tableau, dark piano anchoring psychedelic layers of keys, Ishibashi once again building to angst-fueled peaks. Android Witness – how’s that for a thought-provoking title? – opens with an art-rock grandeur fueled by what sounds like an old Juno synth and gives Ishibashi a long launching pad for her soaring vocals.

Tarrytown has a wistful, spiky folk-pop feel, the ukulele mingling with layers of guitar – Ishuira’s terse slide guitar and banjo are unselfconsciously gorgeous. Estes – presumably not about the former Mets pitcher – keeps the sprightly folk-pop vibe going. And what is it with all these J-pop bands and their food obsessions? In this case, it’s a bagel…and coffee at 6 AM, yikes! The duo follow that with a brief, woozy take on Pat Metheny pastoral cinematics.

The album’s best track, Heaven, teases the hell out of you: just when you’re wishing the two would hit an explosive, titanic art-rock peak, Ishuira stomps on his distortion pedal and does exactly that. The escape anthem Deer emerges from a long atmospheric intro and then picks up steam; the album closes with the toweringly beautiful, crescendoing, bitterweeet anthem Fields.

At this point, nous sommes tous Charlie but we’re also all Japanese since the Fukushima reactor keeps leaking into the Pacific and we’re all going to die if we don’t stop it. In the meantime, we should all be enjoying Japanese music, not only because so much of it is good, but also because too many of the people who make it are going to die young. Thank you, American technology. - New York Music Daily

Why did you select this song as your current single?

We selected this song because it was quite different to the other singles we had released so far. Furthermore, we felt it showed a side of us that people would find interesting and intriguing.

How does this single relate to the rest of the EP?

This song is quite different to all the other tracks in terms of style but still has that underlining link of melody and emotion that is evident in every song on the EP. It takes you in a slightly different direction but still stays close to what we are, which is an indie pop band.

What was the writing process for the song?

The track was written around the original idea of the verse. I came up with the chords one day when I was mucking around with another song. It all just progressed from there. It has ended up quite different from it’s original demo form though. I guess that’s what naturally happens when a song is pushed through the band machine. It comes out sounding quite different at the other end which is always a good thing but not always an easy journey. - iMoveiLive Online Music Magazine

From New York City, comes the full-length debut album from the indie-baroque pop band Robin's Egg Blue. The new release "Circlefield" was recorded in Japan and mixed in New York and captures both of those music world within the album. The wonderful vocals of Atsumi Ishibashi are inviting on the two-minute warm-up of "Circle," before gently traveling through the steady electronic rhythm of "Edge Of The Woods." The album is highlighted by the airy ballad "Tarrytown" as the music and vocals are very soothing and relaxing. The music of "Shine" is just beautiful, before closing the album with the soaring vocals of "Deer (Reprise)" and the folk/pop feel of "Fields." - JP's Music Blog

Celebrating truly beautiful chill out acoustics, the band combine them with a magnetic vocalist who can only attract you. Their talent is undoubted yet their music is still in the early stages. - First Play Music UK