Here is the 4th studio LP from Tokyo, Japan singer/songwriter Hakushi Hasegawa. Making their full-length studio debut in 2019 with Air Ni Ni following their first couple of extended plays iPhone 6+ & Sōmoku Hōdō, the sophomore effort I’m Dead! would come out in 2023 & impressed the Los Angeles, California producer Flying Lotus so much to the point where he signed them to Brainfeeder Records distributed by Ninja Tune. Mahōgakkō has since become some of the label’s greatest material ever recorded & have returned 25 months later to give their Honest Feeling.

“Little Briar Rose” takes inspiration from the fairy tale of the same name singing about a century-long dream being fun to have & after the 40 second “Gettinhereroute” intermission, “Nausea” continues the glitchy jazz vibes assuring the story will always stick with you no matter where one goes. “Boss-Moire-FS” takes a more chaotic approach for the musical equivalent of a panic attack layering these spoken word bits & saxophone while “We the Ominous Warriors” abstractly sings about being in a messy kiss state.

We have Hakushi on “Why the Hell Do I Have to Say Everything From 1 to 10 Each Time Each Time Each Time Each Time?” manically explaining that anyone who doesn’t have a thumb buddy is a nobody just before the lead single “The Owner of Sweetness” blends shimokita-kei, indie rock, glitch pop, deconstructed club, pop punk, noise rock, slacker rock & noise pop singing about hopes of returning to an ungastropodish place. “Grace” later combines glitch pop, art pop, electro-industrial, deconstructed club, avant-garde jazz, epic collage, electro-industrial, industrial rock, experimental rock & tearout brostop for an eclectic 3rd & final single.

“Thief Cat Thief” after “The-End-FS” intermission embraces a quirkier sound singing about Don Planta’s book not being here because they already replaced it while “Suffocation Diary” after the “Permanent-Trompe l’Oeil-FS” interlude fuses indietronica, alt-pop, alternative R&B, neo-psychedelia, glitch pop & alté shouting out the late SOPHIE amongst others including Arca. “Witchkeeper” dabbles with spoken word for a few minutes over these strumming acoustics & once “Vanilla Value” colorfully suggests their ending would be a suitable finale, “Never Lack Nothing” sends off Hakushi’s boldest statement yet singing about being the decorators of the blackout curtain.

Honest Feeling further validates Hakushi Hasegawa as one of the most exciting artists in on Brainfeeder & could very likely become the imprint’s strongest release this year. Their glitch pop, experimental, art pop, avant-garde jazz, glitch, deconstructed club, avant-prog, nu jazz, jazz-rock, indietronica, alt-pop, alternative r&b, neo-psychedelia, glitch pop, alté, shimokita-kei, indie rock, pop punk, noise rock, slacker rock, noise pop, electro-industrial, industrial rock, experimental rock & tearout brostop feels more expansive than Mahōgakkō in time for the season of flutter arriving thanks to her new live band Haha & the Hairpins.

Score: 4/5

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