Fujiya & Miyagi

The name couldn’t be any more misleading considering none of the members are in fact Asian and there are three of them (yes, one of them represents the ampersand). However, one thing this trio are straightforward about is their influences. A nice mash-up of everything from Krautrock and new wave, to disco and art rock, Steve Lewis (Fujiya), Matt Hainsby (Ampersand) and David Best (Miyagi) are very blatant about where they get their ideas from, but they’re also very good… Transparent Things is a compilation of their three EPs as well as brand new track, the slow-burning closer, "Cylinders.” Like the Beta Band’s similarly constructed debut, this flows like a full-length should, even though the band change their trajectory for nearly every song. "Conductor 71” and "Cassettesingle” are like hearing two undiscovered Neu! songs 30 years after their creation, with transfixing synths, steady chopping chords, and Teutonic beats that are as divine as they are unabashed. At the other end of their spectrum, "Photocopier” could enter a Kasabian set without even hardcore fans noticing and "In One Ear & Out the Other” beats the DFA at the game they (re)invented. Hear that? That’s the sound of originality just kicking itself.