City Magic

Four years after forming, and two years after their debut, Sentimental City Romance had been through two changes of personnel. City Magic is where the band's live-honed playing, intricate arrangements and beautiful melodic lines meet with unusual clarity. Calling it a step toward their eighties sound hardly overstates the case.

“Natsu no Hi no Omoide (Dancing Music)” dives straight into an easy midtempo beat. Its melody smells faintly of a remembered summer afternoon; the warm chorus soon makes the feeling impossible to resist. “Boku Dake no Melody” takes a different route, with a supple, skipping beat and an electric piano sound that turns the song into a long nighttime drive. “Sutekiss Skip” slows down again. Let it come on the radio at a summer sunset and you may find yourself following the last light into the night sky.