A Cool Evening

Some albums return to you as vividly as a late-summer evening. Yu Imai's A Cool Evening is one of those records for me. There are plenty of tropical albums, but few capture this particular lightness. The title track folds the familiar “Blue Moon” into a breezy, retro song, moving between a hint of faraway romance and nostalgia for a Japanese summer.

The playing has a natural ease, with an instrumental backdrop that nods toward Tin Pan Alley and Sadistics. Above it, Haruko Kuwana's slightly boyish voice gives the music its unmistakable lift. This is the sort of record that makes you want to spend one more summer night in its company.