International Spotlight: Eastern Youth (Japan)

Tim Krysko of Wreck The Place Fantastic reporting in with our International Spotlight. Every week (except last week, which we missed due to sasquatch attack) we're featuring updates and music downloads from bands outside the North American market. This week we're headed to Japan:

The Japanese indie music scene is incredibly huge, but still, and
probably largely due to the language barrier, the majority of bands
are unknown in the west. That makes the example of Eastern Youth so
exceptional. This near two-decade-running indie rock band originally
from Sapporo is as revered by North American genremates as those in
their home country - and most of us rely on lyric translations to have
any idea what they're singinging about. Many on this side of the
Pacific were humbled by Eastern Youth in 2002 when they appeared on a
split with Cursive released by Better Looking Records. A year later, Five One Inc released What Can You See From Your
Place, the first of the band's records to be pushed to the North
American audience. Now in 2006, Five One is striking again with
Eastern Youth's latest, 365 Step-Blues.

Any hype this band garners is well-deserved; they're called 'legends'
for a reason. Not only are Eastern Youth one of Japan's finest
musical exports, but they also offer an interpretation of indie rock
that's staunchly authentic to Japan. Visit Five One Inc for an ecard, and download the opening
track "Make for the Waste Land" below.

Eastern Youth - Make for the Waste Land (MP3)

The band issued 365-Step Blues in March.