There are precious few squeaky toy sounds and chirping birds present on this record and it's much appreciated, in place of this we have detuned pianos, woodwind instruments and distorted synthesizers, creating the sound you'd imagine Fennesz would construct if he were to visit more traditional song structures. The key to Tenniscoats' success is the fact that while they retain that almost naïve, sweet quality you get on many discs of this kind, they never resort to being meaninglessly twee - you have female vocals and sugared electronics but it's done in such a way that sidesteps obvious over-sentimentality or cringe-worthy childishness. The title of the album 'Totemo Aimasho' loosely translates as "Lets Meet Very Much" - and apparently doesn't make much sense in Japanese either - but the warm sentiment perfectly sums up this remarkable album's otherworldly pop reductions. The packaging is also quite remarkable - a beautifully constructed double-gatefold covered in metallic gold illustrations and washed-out images - certainly one of the nicest looking objects we've stocked this year. For a start Tenniscoats operate in a much more inclusive musical arena - their delicate blend of homespun melodies, traditional Japanese songwriting and gorgeous instrumentation press much more emotive buttons than the icy musical tundras often visited by this label. Room 40 is a label that has already impressed us deeply with its hand-picked selection of electronic minimamlism from the likes of Keith Fullerton Whitman, Taylor Deupree, Greg Davis and DJ Olive among many others, but this label debut from Japan's Tenniscoats is by far its most ambitious, endearing release to date.
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