HELLO TOKYO – Sell The Stars

I receive Hello Tokyo’s disc in the mail and pop it in. Don’t even look at the bio sheet and at once I hear Gwen Stefani-esque vocals reaching past a loud and dense backdrop of catchy keys, guitar riffs, and heavy drum and bass on the first track ‘Alert the Authority’. I’m paying attention, I like this song. A few more songs pass, I am listening. I reach track 4, ‘Steady the Gun’, which causes me to raise my head again. At this point, Kat (lead singer/songwriter) has evolved well past Stefani influences, into a sweet, yet edgy, voice of her own.

Hello Tokyo is a rock-indie-electro-power-pop group with appeal. Kat Kihler, appropriately, has a killer voice. It’s captivating and versatile, ranging from sweet to blunt to flat back up to sweet– striking various moods on queue.

The vocals are backed by an equally powerful sound of intense and poppy hooks. Think of Metric, and perhaps a hint of Sleater-Kinney. All three band members (Kat, John on guitar/bass, and Sam on drums) collectively shine in the production of Hello Tokyo. Guitar, bass, kit, keys and vocals combine in a way that, if one were to strip any one of the band members, you’d feel as if you’d lose the entire essence of their sound. They collectively produce a fine balance of sonic stimulation, each cumulatively propelling one another’s sound, a solid attestation of a good musical team. The guitars are simple and captivating at times, yet heavy and dense at others, hooks entering and exiting at all the right moments, and continually surprising me when I least expect it. The drummer rips a powerful beat and rhythmic edge, contributing to the intensity of the band’s sound and holding it all together.

Hello Tokyo is pleasurably catchy. Upon first listen, I found myself for the most part happy, though at times slightly unsatisfied, impatiently awaiting the next song with hope of a surprise similar to which I felt when I initially loaded the disc. However, the more and more I tune in – which is becoming an effortless process as I return to this album again and again – I find myself pleasantly absorbed by the many diversions and different directions many songs veer, which have a way of calming this sense of impatience and holding me captivated throughout the entire length of the album. Hello Tokyo’s ‘Sell the Stars’ delivers.

Top tracks: Alert the Authority, Run To You, Hands to Hold, and Your Majesty.

Hello Tokyo plan on a west-coast tour in the near future, we’ll keep you posted.

Check out the Alert the Authority Video