The Young and the Talented: Galileo Galilei’s Yotsuba Sagashi no Tabibito Single (Review)

It’s kind of frustrating that as you get older, all the incoming stars in the music business become increasingly younger than you. This group is no exception. Galileo Galilei is a 4-member rock group out of Japan who are all aged 16 through 18, but provide an amazingly mature sound.

While their first studio album just out (February 16 in Japan), we’re taking a look at their third single, Yotsuba Sagashi no Tabibito, which acted as the opening theme for CDTV (Countdown TV, a late night music program in Japan). There are also some B-sides here that are worth your attention.

Find out about them in our review after the jump.

This single was my first introduction to the group, which was founded in Hokkaido in 2007. From the opening notes of “Yotsuba Sagashi no Tabibito,” however, I was hooked. Upbeat guitar riffs, a funky bassline, and a very laidback singing style all really come together nicely, creating a nice track to sit back and enjoy your weekend with.

The first B-side, “Arigato, Gomen ne” is a sweet lullaby-esque track combining crystalline guitar notes with a playful xylophone. The backing strings drip with emotion, creating a warm and welcoming soundscape. Distorted electric guitars interrupt the arm-swaying atmosphere momentarily, but it’s a lovely 5 and a half minutes to be sure.

The second B-side, “Invaders,” is an instrumental track, opening with the sounds of a dog barking before tweaked and twisted synthesizer notes take you to another dimension. It isn’t long before a spacey electric guitar with lots of reverb jumps into the mix. It’s seems pretty rare that a group will put together an instrumental track, especially given how easy singer Yuuki Ozaki’s voice is on the ears, but it’s a nice treat for sure, coming off sounding like something similar to Incubus.

All 3 tracks are excellent, and have me excited not only about the group in general, but their upcoming album (titled Parade) as well as a series of animated shorts that the band is working on. Wait, these guys are artists as well? Yeah, multi-talented… it’s not really fair, is it?

The single was released in only one format (no limited edition available), and features some interesting artwork on the front and back, and even a separate little hand-drawn comic strip of a dog be woken up by a UFO containing the band. I guess this is perhaps a preview of what their animated shorts will look like. In any case, the single is available from CD Japan and Play-Asia, and I recommend checking it out to see if you want to pick up their debut album release.

Are you with me in thinking musicians are getting younger and younger? Am I just being old and cranky?