Topshelf US Vinilo y CD

Review: Japanese math rock band Tricot hailed from Kyoto and formed back in 2010. The trio featured vocalist and guitarist Ikumi "Ikkyu" Nakajima, guitarist Motoko "Motifour" Kida, and bassist Hiromi "Hirohiro" Sagane and they soon became synonymous with intricately constructed rhythms. They are prolific, too, having put out seven albums so far and A N D is their second from March 2015. It came on their own label Bakuretsu Records and now gets reissued on black and pink vinyl. Its meticulously and tightly woven grooves still stand up almost a decade on.

Review: Kyoto four-piece Tricot deliver an extremely pleasing album in the form of T H E, their debut studio album and an incendiary, wayward project in the realm of sugary math rock via pop. The band have remained hard at this formula for years, but it's T H E that really cements their sound, thanks to time ensuring the polishing of its constituent parts - be it the breathy, knife-edge vocals of singer Ikkyu Nakajima; stop-start counterpoints, rhythms and harmonies; and themes of struggle relating to instant gratification, projection and the creative process.