b-flower

b-flower are a Japanese indie pop band formed in Kyoto, Japan, in the late 1980s. The band would be put under such banners as ネオアコースティック ("Neo-Acoustic") in Japan (see below), which refers to the sound heavily influenced by the British independent music scene of the 1980s, most notably alternative rock. ネオアコ ("Neo-Aco"), as often dubbed, was popular with the country's young generations in the 1990s. The band's name comes from a poem written by Richard Brautigan, in which he compared roadside drunks to exotic flowers. This led to the name "Brautigan Flower", which eventually became "b-flower". b-flower's work often contains references to Brautigan's writing. "Even NME, not the easiest to please, no doubt, praised their tunes and performance full of sensitive beauty. Hideshi Hachino's witty lyrics in Japanese (which, when they debuted, stood out as a fresh delight among their folk rock/ 'neo-acoustic' contemporaries, most of whose lyrics were done in English) and crystal vocals are still the magnet for fans, though most of their albums are out of issue. " "B-FLOWER : Stay Still (Sugarfrost) - Gorgeous. Beautiful beyond belief, a piano-based ballad, sung in Japanese, with a melody that covers you like the softest of eiderdowns. b-flower are five young boys from Kyoto with a captivating sense of passion, nestling somewhere between the gentle side of REM and the trance-like qualities of Nico on a good day. Mind you, I'm a sucker for anything sung in either French or Japanese, the two most soothing and lyrical languages on the planet. Surprise of the week, nay, year." (NME, June 19, 1993).

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