After exploring bedroom production under the name ANNA on a few scattered tracks, Tokyo-based artist
Nana Yamato switched to her given name for her first full-length release,
Before Sunrise, a collection that skitters between electronic impulses and bursts of energetic, guitar-based indie rock. The album was written and recorded in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when
Yamato's usually bustling Tokyo home was locked down and eerily quiet. There are hints of that unsettled stillness in the lonely moods of songs like "Leaving," which joins warped shoegaze guitar textures with obtuse
Breeders-esque melodies, and the melancholic synth pop opener "Do You Wanna."
Yamato's introduction to independent music culture came when she was in high school and happened upon an
Iceage record at a local shop. While
Before Sunrise never gets as volatile as early
Iceage, the spirit of untethered creative exploration carries over as
Yamato shifts quickly from the triumphant MIDI horn lines of "Burning Desire" to playful singsong verses on "Fantasy," to slick radio-ready grooves on the title track. With all vocals, programming, and guitar performed solely by
Yamato, the album has an insular feel to it. There's a sense of joyful discovery that comes in hearing her try out different ideas on every track, ranging from aching
M83/
Wild Nothing-inspired sentiments to damaged guitar tones that recall
Mac DeMarco and
St. Vincent's more out-there excursions. Nothing is off limits, and clean production emphasizes
Yamato's wilder turns. Existing somewhere between the solitude and daydreams,
Before Sunrise constructs a world of its own full of unexpected twists and distant beauty. ~ Fred Thomas