Té - If That Is What Is Being Thought, Liberated Sound Talks The Depth Of "Musical" World

Whilst the hipsters of the world are currently crapping their pants about all the great bands getting pumped out of Canada (“...and Tokyo Police Club even wear headbands! How cool is that?”), spare a thought for the musical renaissance that's quietly bubbling away in Japan. Presumably sick of all the rubbish that we've been pimping out to them over the years (Swing Out Sister anyone?), they've been producing some home-grown belters, including post-rockers Mono, Rock Action-signed Envy, and now Té, a band that comes to instrumental rock via some serious hardcore crunch. Perhaps their nearest UK contemporary is Bletchley noiseniks Action Beat, although Té's love affair with a more effects-laden sound might have noise fans eyeing them somewhat suspiciously. Layers of Explosions in the Sky style twin guitars are offset by bombastic metal drumming, and although it would be nice for a bit more grit to offset the shoegazing, this is still an engrossing debut. [Ewen Millar]