Seventeen Years Old And Berlin Wall (originally 17歳とベルリンの壁 - also stylized as SBW), is one of the greatest recent shoegazing exports from the eastern part of the world. The band based in Tokyo, Japan, have been around since 2013, and have released three notable EPs between 2015 and 2018 which they are about to follow with a fourth one. The six-song release, Abstract, comes out on August 5th, 2020, and it's introduced by its opening number, No Paradise.
Not very far from the sound that established them as a bright and hopeful fresh act, the new song finds the band in great shape, and shows their intent to experiment a bit more with a style of instrumentation where synths are included in a more prominent manner. No Paradise also exhibits a sense of audacity in regard to the mixing which feels well composed and finely textured, while the soft vocals and the overall euphony comprise a quintessentially appealing dreampop piece.
The band's lineup includes Yusei Tsuruta (guitar, vocals) who started SBW back in 2013, as well as Eriko Takano (bass, vocals), Takuji Yoshida (guitar) and Junichiro Miyazawa (drums).
Photo courtesy of the band
Seventeen Years Old And Berlin Wall Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
ZR