Favorites of 2023

 1. Cut Worms-Cut Worms

2. Freezing Hands-Empty The Tank

3. The Feelies-Some Kinda Love
Performing the Music of The Velvet Underground

4. Uni Boys-Buy This Now!

5. Logan Ledger-Golden State

6. The Highmarts-World Tour

7. The Long Ryders-September November

8. The Wrong Society-Down With

Reissues & Collections

1. Leroy Fullylove and the Tads-Your Reason

2. Astrud Gilberto-Now

Doré L.A. Soul Sides / Doré L.A. Soul Sides 2

The rise of the Doré label coincided with Los Angeles’ ascent as an epicenter in the U.S. recording industry. Along with Era, Del-Fi, GNP Crescendo, Dot, Specialty and Imperial, Doré was part of the scrappy, enterprising and vibrant Los Angeles independent rock ‘n’ roll scene before the major labels (RCA Victor, Columbia, Capitol, Warner Bros.) became truly established and entrenched on the West Coast. 

Lewis Bedell’s Doré Records started as a subsidiary of Era Records in 1958. In the shadows of the Capitol Records tower, Doré operated in the heart of Hollywood at Sunset & Vine. In its early stages, the label was known for its numerous pop, doo wop and novelty flops. However, a fortuitous turn of events occurred with the arrival of Phil Spector with his group the Teddy Bears to the label. “To Know Him is to Love Him” was Spector’s breakthrough that went on to become a worldwide hit and an enduring classic.  Doré was also the launchpad label for Jan & Dean. In addition, both Lew Adler (Dunhill & Ode Records) and Herb Albert (A&M Records) began their legendary music industry careers at Doré. By the mid-sixties, Lew had the foresight to detect that soul music was the only style that could withstand the onslaught of the British Invasion and the Beatles. 

Lew Bedell-1969

The collection opens with the lush and lavish “It Only Hurts for a Little While” by the Whispers, which was recorded at Gold Star Studios with the booming sonics bolstered by such session giants as Hal Blaine, Tommy Tedesco and Jules Wechter. “Baby’s Gone Away” by the Superbs features Eleanor Greene on lead vocals, who would later become known as Eleanor May after her marriage to Los Angeles Angels baseball pitcher Rudy May. Sweet, smooth and spacious vocal harmonies come to the fore on this 1965 single. Eleanor was also involved with the Shade of Jade whose ”Why Does It Feel So Right (Doing Wrong)” sounds like it should have been a 1968 hit as well as almost foreshadowing 1971’s “Mr. Big Stuff” by Jean Knight.

“Family Man” by Slim & the Twilight might be a blatant rip off of “Mother-In-Law” by the Ernie-K-Doe, but it’s also from the pen of Russ Regan who had a legendary career in the music industry starting in promotions with Motown before later presiding over Uni Records. “Family Man” would also have been an apt cover in the age of Peter Zaremba's Love Delegation.

The Superbs appear again with “On a Day When It's Raining.” It’s an easy going atmospheric record that showcases their effervescent vocal group harmony. The Natural Resources were sort of a Doré supergroup and also the label’s entry in the domain of the late ‘60s psychedelic pop-soul to compete with the likes of the 5th Dimension, Friends of Distinction, Rotary Connection. In the early ‘70s, the Natural Resources would record under the name of Natural Resources Unpolluted with a sound that went deeper into the funk a la Sly Stone & the Family Stone. 

Pinnacles of Mid-Sixties Soul The liner notes reveal “The Winds Kept Laughing“ by Betty and the Chevelles was augmented by members of the Cascades (of "Rhythm of the Falling Rain” fame). It starts off guitar driven and ramshackle before a surprise turn into sweeping 1964 production pop with a musical bed that evokes “The Lonely Surfer” by Jack Nitzsche from the previous year. The Vel-Vettes’ dramatic 1966 number “You Really Never Know Until It’s Over” follows and is a charming example of the late girl-group sound on the subtle, yet soulful side.

“Gone With the Wind Is My Love” by Rita and the Tiaras contains all the de rigueur elements to make it a classic of the Northern Soul scene. The belting vocals of jazz singer Rita Graham combined with a captivating backing track by the Tiaras lifts this one over the top. Little Johnny Hamilton & the Creators’ “Oh How I Love You” is another stomper blaring with horns and bursting with building energy. In my imagination, I can also hear this covered by the Action and ? and the Mysterians. Further, prepare yourself for an instrumental break on par with Ramsey Lewis.

I was surprised that I hadn't previously heard “We Together Baby” by Smokey & the Bears until this compilation. This thrilling 1967 instrumental is a direct lift of “Louie Louie” blended with “Soul Finger” by the Bar-Kays to whip up an entirely new creation. Hearing the yearning “I Want You” with its spare guitar grandeur by Dee Torres on WFMU’s Cool Blue Flame is what initially drew me to further explore the Doré Records story beyond my Jan & Dean records. The timeless, mysterious and otherworldly song defies categorisation, while also aptly described on YouTube as an “excellent barrio ballad.” The glimmering guitar triplets flicker like candles over swells of organ to cast a sublime atmosphere. 

“I Cry Only Once a Day Now” by the Puffs is a 1966 update of a 1962 Lew Bedell composition and is done in classic girl-group fashion. The Superbs continue their role as soft soul serenaders on the second volume with “Goddess of Love.”  Bobby Swayne handles the lead vocals on this sunlit soul-pop crossover.  

While Doré’s main focus was decidedly on the soul side during the ‘60s, it surprisingly also released some garage & psychedelic records in the mid to late ‘60s.  Records from this surprising phase can be heard on the Blow My Mind! The Doré-Era-Mira Punk and Psych Legacy compilation. By the ‘70s, Dore was primarily known as a comedy label and in a way it was a return to form as Lew Bendell started in the entertainment industry as a stand-up comedian. Comedy albums by Hudson & Landy are easy to catch in the used bargain bins here in the West. I bought Hangin’ in There for a buck because it was supposedly recorded at the Pomona National Golf and Country Club. I ended up releasing it back to Goodwill as their '70s humor (which dates quickly) did not do it for me.  

Lew Bedell is said to be one of the good guys in the recording industry of the mid-century. He was willing to give musical aspirants a chance to transcend the quotidian and possibly achieve their artistic dreams. Bedell did indeed create a conducive atmosphere for the many who recorded for Doré. These records endure today because they express the wide-open possibilities of Los Angeles. Additionaly, they retain a gritty street level and small label essence now championed by archival labels like Now-Again and Numero Group and embraced by subsequent generations of listeners. These two volumes showcase the remarkable range of the label’s soul releases. Most of all, these records are still breaking through like the sun over the California coast.

The Creators from Compton who backed Little Johnny Hamilton

Shirley Ellis-Sugar, Let's Shing-A-Ling / Soul Time With Shirley Ellis

While best known for her playground diddy, “The Name Game,” which took on a life of its own and made her a household name for a brief 1965 moment, Shirley had an extensive and wide-ranging career that stretched from 1954 to 1968.  Before leaving the music industry, the self-taught and unsung musician left on a strong note with this overlooked, but culminating 1967 Columbia album that put an exclamation mark on her career.

The opening number “Sugar, Let’s Shing-A-Ling” prompts the thought that as a dance, the shing-a-ling was probably not well known outside of discotheques and gyms of Northeast cities, until the Human Beinz mentioned it in their 1967 update of the Isley Brothers’  “Nobody But Me.” Following this grand entrance, is the swaying sweet soul of “Back Track” which was co-composed by fellow Columbia Records labelmate (at that time) Lou Christie. 

Her powerful composition “Soul Time” will get you right back on the dance floor and as can be predicted, it’s an enduring classic on the Northern Soul scene. “Soul Time” would also later be reworked by Madeline Bell, just a few months after Shriley’s release. It was also covered in 1968 by the Mystics-Hong Kong’s only ‘60s soul group comprised of musicians of Portuguese and Cantonese descent! While “Soul Time” only reached #67 in the U.S., Filipinos recognized the record has what it takes and more and it went all the way to #4 in the Philippines. 

French EP featuring the photography of Sandy Speiser

The album features stunning and striking photography from Sandy Speiser-an in-house photographer for Columbia Records who warrants further investigation. Also glaring, are the uncredited studio musicians and backing singers whose contributions are lost to the mysteries of history or until the surfacing of recording sessions contracts. Overall, contextual information is scant beyond the fact the album was produced & arranged by Charlie Calilleo. (On a side note, when Shirley performed live at New York’s Basin Street East in 1965, she was backed by Mitch Ryder’s Detroit Wheels who were called out for not knowing her material by Billboard’s Herb Wood in a live review.)

Jet Magazine-June 15, 1967

It might seem she ventured a little away from her stock-in-trade pop soul sounds on this album, however Ellis was always adventurous and not afraid to cross genres. The beauty from the Bronx first started singing with the jazz-calypso combo the Metronomes in 1954. A decade later, she realized her first hit with the unvarnished “The Nitty Gritty,” that successfully employed crowd sounds effects like “Fingertips-Part 2” by Little Stevie Wonder. George Harrison was said to be a fan of this live-wire record and it was later covered by the Hollies. She would follow by recording a dashing and Latin-inflected cover of “Stardust.” Yes, this album is a slight shift in direction and sophisticated turn towards the supper club scene, but it also showcases her aforementioned versatility. “How Lonely is Lonely” certainly spotlights Ellis' magnetic and compelling qualities that would certainly translate to 1966 Atlantic City. The adept singer also delivers a lush and lavish rendition of the irresistible 1965 Barbara Mason hit “ Yes, I’m Ready.” “Music and Memories” has been compared to Amy Winehouse. Their vocals do bear an uncanny resemblance as astutely pointed out by writer Harry Young. It’s also a refined work of production pop enhanced by female backing vocals and moving orchestration. Fittingly, the album fittingly closes on one her compositions “To Be or Not to Be.” She hits her full stride as both a composer and vocalist on this lovely song that works on all levels.

Let's Shing-A-Ling / Soul Time With Shirley Ellis was lost in the tidal wave of 1967 releases as it was far from the vanguard, but it has aged well to be a solid listen nonetheless. While it may have been only 2 calendar years between “The Name Game” and these recordings, there were seemingly decades of musical and technical changes packed between 1965 and 1967. Her third and final album does reflect some of these transformations and her name alone calls for listening for those who have only heard her big 3 oldies radio hits "The Nitty Gritty,” “The Clapping Song,” and “The Name Game.” Those who wish to further explore these additional aspects and dimensions, will encounter a compelling 30 minutes of Soul Time.

 

Photograph by Sandy Speiser

Freezing Hands-Empty the Tank

Current Phase If you need to get up to speed with Freezing Hands, now’s the time as the wheels are already spinning on Empty the Tank. Their fourth proper album continues their course, while also capturing their forward momentum and revealing new factets. Like the lightning quick album releases of the mid-sixties, this has surprisingly arrived shortly after 2022’s It Was a Good Run. With its similar themes, constant through-lines and overall continuity, Empty the Tank could even be considered conceptually as a Double Album, in the grand ‘70s tradition, when paired with its immediate predecessor. They have definitely honed their sound and once again found their distinctive spot between pop, punk and rock 'n’ roll. In addition to delivering memorable hooks, melodies and harmonies last heard in the late ‘70s power-pop heyday of the Nerves, 20/20 and the Beat, they also venture into '60s pastoral pop that somehow connects Tucson’s sunny Reid Park and parking lots to the Zombies’ "Beechwood Park" through the mists of the Kinks’ “Village Green.”

Giving the Youngsters a Run for their Money Uni Boys and the Reflectors from Southern California and the Whiffs from Kansas City are currently leading power-pop into Century 21. All of these combos feature 1979-ish radio-ready melodies and a compressed sound that is laced as tight as Shoes. In contrast, Freezing Hands are able to add a spaciousness in their sound made by lived experience, years of work and exposure to a wider range of influences. Musically, their harmonies are able to give their sound an expansiveness that matches their panoramic Tucson surroundings. On the production side, their latest is once again presented in suitable mid-fi stereo and bears the production trademarks of Midtown Island Studio. 

Dateland Records Recording Stars

They project a rare symmetry in their sound. However, the abundant hooks, harmonies and melodies bely and contrast with the lyrics. Underneath the hood are daring, intricate and integrated lyrics, steeped in the Kinksian tradition and not afraid of addressing the state of oneself, Tucson and the world.  Moreover, the lyrics do not expect, nor receive any answers.

"When We Get to Tucson You'll See Why" ("Thumbelina" by the Pretenders) Perhaps some of their sonic vastness and lyrical depth can be attributed to the symbiotic relationship between Tucson and the band. The band is imbued with a certain Tucson-ness, but it’s not provincial or a yearning to move to the costly coast. It’s a certain openness known by those who have lived there and dismissed by those who don’t know, don’t value or don’t care. There is indeed something undefinable in the desert air and its live and let live ethos that can spur creative pursuits. Reflecting the unpredictable atmosphere of Tucson itself, Travis writes lyrical assemblages with straightforward, skewed and serpentine perspectives all clashing, converging and co-existing within the hooks and harmonies. Overall, there is a magnetic pull that encourages further exploration and engagement way beyond the usual cycle of point, click, skip ad, and scroll on.

Moving Targets

As previously mentioned, there’s an even stronger slant into the Kinks as heard on side one’s “Sunny-Free” and “For the Taken.” Further, they offer their own distinctive and dramatic take by applying sardonic character sketches and studies to their own locale. While the geographical settings for the bands drastically differ, their milieus overlap as Freezing Hands trade out football (soccer) for baseball, pubs for strip mall dive bars and rolling bucolic greens for parking lots, foothills and flatlands sprawling with red tile roofs. Until a recent revisit of those post-Turtles Flo & Eddie records spurred by reading Mark Volman’s recent book Happy Forever, I had not previously perceived Flo & Eddie's significant influence on Freezing Hands. It all makes sense as Ray Davies produced Turtle Soup by the Turtles.

  TONIGHT

“Wax Cups” evokes both "Drivin' Around" by Raspberries and the magic feeling that can still be felt when one returns to the Pacific Coast and observes the breaking waves and feels the cool of those misty California nights. In addition, it’s also a celebration of the option to go out once again. Meanwhile, “High Diver!” expresses the anticipatory aspects of that power-pop belief in the literal and figurative TONIGHT with the appropriate levels of top-down buoyancy in the grand tradition of Raspberries and ‘70s Beach Boys with the keys adding a Cars-like gleam. The lyrics shift easily from the slapstick and satirical to the clever and contemplative before twisting back on themselves. 

Freezing Hands live at the Yucca in Tempe, AZ (March 2023)
L-R: Kevin Conklin (bass), Travis Spillers (guitar, lead vocals), Matt Rendon (drums, backing vocals) Scott Landrum (keys, backing vocals)

Inherent intuition Upon first hearing the song title announced by Travis when they played the Yucca Tap Room in Tempe last March, I thought that “I Was a Teenage Piece of Shit” was going to be an “ID Slips In” exploitative throwaway. It’s actually a reflective rumination on redeeming yourself in the universe for past harms done to others. It also actually flips the script on the usual narratives where oldsters gloat about how much they got away with in one’s youth. It concludes with the never ending quest “To Be a Much Better Human,” while musically it’s somewhat of a sweeping continuation of “Here with the Babies” from the preceding album. The song also displays their intuitive sense of combining “inside baseball” details with harmonies and relentless Stooges' “1969” inspired handclaps. Matt’s remakrable drumming in Freezing Hands recalls the great Clem Burke and the late Phil Seymour. (His propulsive, yet intricate style of beat-pop-jazz drumming has to be seen and heard live.) Overall, it’s a brave display of their growth and development and knowing when one has to take things head on or when one needs to consider approaching from other angles. 

Arrangements & Rearrangements

Concluding side one is the cheeky “Got Me a Friend” which could be a concert closer and/or slotted in the upcoming movie Peter Rabbit 3: Naughty by Nature during a festive montage. 

Most groups typically front load their albums with the uptempo numbers up on side one to make a grand entrance and grab attention.  Freezing Hands are not most groups as they work in reverse with the speediest and catchiest numbers on side two. 

Beat Boys in the Jet Age The album takes off on side two and goes from strength to strength, while prospecting similar power-pop territory as the Deathray Davies, Flop and the Lolas. “Destiny, Destiny” is total next phase new wave rock 'n' roll combining 20/20, the Taxi Boys, Greg Kihn Band with Look Sharp!-era Joe Jackson. The on-target lyrics delve into notions of changing fate in the face of the pre-ordained. “Disappearing Bug or Horse” returns them to the valley of the Dickies merging with TVT-period Guided by Voices. Besides the aforementioned American influences, there are also hints of UK mod revival sounds like the Look UK and the Lambrettas-especially when those bands incorporated Broadway showtunes influence like the Look UK covering “Tonight” from West Side Story.

 

Topsy-Turvy Self-referential songs are tricky as they can work or they can fall flat. Thankfully “My Guitar” is more Young Fresh Fellows than goofy Too Much Joy. “Taxiing” raises the question: “Is that a riveting AC/DC riff by way of Hoodoo Gurus?” "Friend-O" unfolds as a rollicking barroom morality play and has the galloping kick  of “Kodachrome” by Paul Simon.

The enthralling “Nothin’ in the Tank” is this album’s tour de force. The song is already incorporated in their live set and immediately stood out at their aforementioned rare live show at the Yucca in Tempe last March. The “canvas sneakers power-pop” of the Nerves and the Beat arrives on the forefront. It’s a mini-masterpiece with layers of whirling vocals and cascading melodies before finishing in a round.

Nothing in Reserve Under constantly changing circumstances, Freezing Hands have remained true to their ambitious and distinctive approach of spanning musical decades to advance their harmonic, melodic and enduring sound of their own making. All this is made possible by their resolute commitment to rehearsals, recordings and live shows on top of the push & pull of workaday life. In a way, their undeterred pursuit to create their own captivating sound and realize their visions in the face of everything else are also major characteristics of the Old Pueblo of Tucson itself.

Freezing Hands-photo by Ed Arnaud
L-R: Kevin Conklin (bass), Travis Spillers (guitar, lead vocals), Matt Rendon (drums, backing vocals) Scott Landrum (keys, backing vocals)

Los Pakines

The infectious and varied Peruvian cumbia sound of the ‘60s & ‘70s has experienced a remarkable resurgence in the last 10 years with a high tide of reissues. Legendary labels like Lima’s Infopesa (Industria Fonografica Peruana S.A.) and reissue labels like Madrid’s Vampisoul, who acquired the entire Discos MAG catalog in 2022, are some of the major movers. After some excellent overview compilations like Vampisoul’s Cumbia Beat volumes and Infopesa’s Cumbias Chichadélicas: Peruvian Psychedelic Chicha, the labels are now offering single artist anthologies and individual album reissues in response to the recent surge of interest in this music. In 2015 Infopesa released this Los Pakines collection, which includes their first two albums Los Pakines Y....."Pasto Azul" and Los Pakines in their entirety. Further, the master tapes were utilized to present both albums, originally released in 1973, in the highest fidelity possible.

Los Pakines started as a surfy instrumental group with their influences ranging from the local Lima instrumental combos like Los Belking’s, Los Jaguar’s, Los Holy’s, Los Destellos (the Flashes) to international instrumental purveyors the Shadows and the Ventures. It has been documented that Infopesa owner Alberto Maraví swayed them to augment their instrumental sound with Peruvian cumbia-itself an infectious blend of Cuban guaracha and Colombian rhythms. Brothers José "Pepe" Torres Liza and Alejandro "Pakin" Torres Liza started the band that remains active to this day. Alejandro composed a majority of their songs and played the timbales, while brother José "Pepe" provided the fluid lead guitar adorned with romantic flourishes. Alejandro's churning click-clack percussion establishes the solid rhythmic foundation for the interplay between the rhythmic and lead guitars. Their melodies go into some unexpected directions-sometimes turning corners unto entirely new melodies.

Things get going on "Ramo de Rosas" (“Bouquet of Roses”) as the bucking percussion kicks in between the driving guitar sounds. Poppy “Ya, La, La, La” vocables are hinged upon serpentine guitars that coil through tangles of tropical psychedelia on “San Luis.” Similar vocal shadings wrap around “Solitario,'' a jaunty tune that takes a circuitous route around “Theme from a Summer Place,” “Blue Moon” and even “The Bristol Stomp.”  Reflecting local color and history, they even named a song after the Peruvian 18th-century entertainer & mistress Micaela Villegas, known as La Perricholi. “La Perricholi” is a joyous, exquisite and percolating number from their debut album featuring the clicking sound of the guacharaca, a percussion instrument made from a small palm tree and also known colloquially as a scraper. The guacharaca also appears on “Tania,” reminding me of ? and the Mysterians covering “The Theme to Hang ‘em High.”

They began to get harder and heavier on their second self-titled album as unison vocals are incorporated on “Tómalo o Déjalo” (“Take or Leave It”) and mirror the North American West Coast groups like El Chicano and Santana. “Fue Una Mentira” (“It Was A Lie”) is a shimmering vocal tune featuring a liquidy guitar sound made possible by delay. The song is also reminiscent of the Ghetto Brothers, the early ‘70s Puerto Rican group from the South Bronx. The highly skilled Los Pakines had domestic success for decades and also achieved international acclaim in the ‘70s & ‘80s-as heard on the 1975 live album Los Pakines En Miami. Their songs, both simultaneously foreign and familiar, evoke distant coastal lands and cross-pollination as well as departures and landings. It is no surprise their records spread all over Latin American and are now being rediscovered. Their captivating sound helped create a golden musical era in Peru and their recordings continue to take flight 50 years later. 

The Highmarts-World Tour: Greatest Hits + Dodgy Demo

A rush of excitement and anticipation came over me when I first saw this release. I have been following the Highmarts via their singles and now Soundflat Records (of Germany & Japan) has stirred things up during this most wearing stretch of summer with World Tour.  According to the Tokyo Weekender, the Highmarts are the future of the Tokyo garage scene. The current version of the band includes Atsushi Hagimoto (Bass/Vocals Support), Minako Ishikawa (Drums/Vocals Support) and guitarist and singer Suzu, who remains the founding member of the band. Past line-ups included Karin, who currently drums for the indie-pop wonders Hazy Sour Cherry. The album cover is notable for featuring a new band logo with a Zenith “Z” splitting their name. (Zenith was a major American consumer electronics brand before being bought by LG in 1999.) Also of note is the very cool '90s Buddy Holly sweatshirt worn by drummer Minako Ishikawa in the band photo.

Notice the Golden Cups lettering

Greatest Singles I recall seeing their first single “I Want You Bad” prominently featured at Time Bomb Records in Osaka in 2019.  The single, produced by Sally Kubota, also includes a cover of the Gestures’ “Run, Run, Run.” Fittingly, the scampering “I Want You Bad” begins the World Tour album. This album title was directly inspired by the trio’s recent touring of France. It’s heartening to know that the Japanese groups are once again whirling around on overseas tours. The first side of World Tour consists mainly of their originals, which previously appeared as singles. Also included are some live versions of their singles like “Hey Boy” and a few Japanese Group Sounds (GS) and American covers. They definitely bring out the brightness in the old standard “CC Rider/Jenny Jenny.”

         

With its CCR-ish intro and Beatlesque closing chord, “Hold Me” is a first-half highlight. This single, originally issued by Mexico City's Chez Nobody Records, demonstrates their current ability to project dynamics and dimensions by ramping up backing vocals, while tracking their ongoing direction. I'm guessing their current approach has also been sparked by their perceived influences-ranging from U.S. ‘60s legends the Shangri-Las, the Ronettes, the Luv’d Ones as well as ‘90s underdogs like the Prissteens to even the eyelined garage sound of 15 years ago whipped up by the Raveonettes and the Detroit Cobras. In turn, it seems like Highmarts are inspiring current Japanese trios such as the Questions (Okinawa).

Dodgy Demo The second half of the record is the complete Dodgy Demo which was originally released as a limited merch table cassette. They take “Test Drive” by Takeshi Terauchi and Bunnys out into Davie Allan & the Arrows fuzzy mirage territory. A song titled “That Summer Feeling" was one of the first things I noticed when previewing the track listing. Could it be the yearning Jonanthan Richman song? It's not the Jonathan Richman song, but an atmospheric, distorted and swirling original by Suzu and sung in Japanese. Lovely melodies and harmonies shine through the sheets of sound-resonating somewhere between Slumber Party, Red Kross and the Amps. I also hear faint echoes of "Voodoo Doll" by the Queers in the melody. Up Next The catchy “I’m So Sorry” could be their signature song as it’s a clear standout. The Highmarts are incorporating a much stronger power-pop element (a la the Baby Shakes) which solidifies, diversifies and enhances their sound. This style truly suits them. “It’s All Over Now” dramatically unfolds next.  Fittingly it’s a spirited theme song to an imaginary movie that conceptually exists only as a poster design concept from Rockin’ Jelly Bean. These most recent finely tuned recordings indicate they are punching through to the next level. Overall, World Tour presents the adventures of the Highmarts searching and finding their own original sound. It also might be the garage rock record of the summer.

Atsushi Hagimoto (Bass), Minako Ishikawa (Drums) and Suzu (Guitar, Vocals)