Yama Warashi – Moon Egg

Yoshino Shigihara's eclectic collective marry Japanese folk with psych grooves and African beats, with madcap flights of fancy. This is dreampop from another realm entirely, and while it strays all over the shop, digging around its various influences like a sniffer dog, there are enough foundation components in play to keep the whole thing smartly grounded.

First, Shigihara's voice is a sweet treat, an instrument that flexes around the elastic challenges of the music, and leads the likes of Quagmire Moon with soul and no little authority. And, more importantly, perhaps, her band are sensational, and they play with the practised conviction of a well-heeled jazz troupe. Sax, guitar, bass and drums criss-cross and interact with lithe grace and breathless abandon. As such, Moon Egg is less of a showcase of songcraft and more a demonstration of deep musicality. On those terms, recommended with reservations.

Listen to: Quagmire Moon