Sadistics

After Sadistic Mika Band broke up, guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka, bassist Tsugutoshi Goto, drummer Yukihiro Takahashi and keyboardist Yu Imai formed Sadistics. The centerpiece of their debut is a pirate-themed suite on side A, recalling Mika Band’s Kurofune. For the city-pop listener, though, side B is where the real discoveries lie.

‘The Tokyo Taste,’ familiar from Rajie and Minami Yoshitaka, returns here with Rajie and another singer in a decidedly mellow arrangement. ‘Imagoro Kimi wa…’ opens on a guitar figure reminiscent of Sugar Babe. Its almost hesitant vocal gives the song a charm a more polished performance might have lost.