Editor's Picks

Artist of the Month Vol #2 – June 2021

by Emily Sia July 14, 2021

For Tracy Hyde, a shoegaze quintet formed in 2012, has built up a reputation for their dream-like soundscapes and venturesome spirit. Consisting of Eureka, the band’s lead vocalist and band members Natsubot, U-1, Mav, and Soukou, the band has released 4 albums that have showcased their creativity and adaptability to change musical direction within each album cycle. Dabbling in indie pop, j-pop, dream pop or even to some extent, electronic synth-pop, the band reminisces the music of the 90s and have since found their sound in dream pop.

For Tracy Hyde – Film Bleu

Initially starting off with synth-accented indie-pop sounds in songs like “Favourite Blue” or “After” from their debut Film Bleu, the band merges j-pop with indie rock and strokes of electronica. In an interview by From The Intercom, For Tracy Hyde’s guitarist and backing vocalist, Natsubot describes Film Bleu as a product of the Shibuya-kei music he was listening to during his college and graduate school days.

For Tracy Hyde – He(R)Art

Following the release of Film Bleu, For Tracy Hyde’s second album, he(r)art, reflects a more americanized sound as it recalls the likes of The 1975 with their use of catchy up beat guitars and pop-ish vocals. While “Theme for “he(r)art”” explores cinematic synthpop, showcasing their talent for writing thematic soundscapes, the band’s influence from The 1975 is clearly articulated in songs like “Floor”, a personal favourite of mine.

For Tracy Hyde – New Young City

With much focus and dedication, the band continued to release their third album, New Young City, in 2019. In this release, the band’s focus returned towards dream pop and shoegaze though a hint of j-pop can be heard in Eureka’s melodious vocal melodies of the album’s songs. The title New Young City was taken from a song of the same name by the Japanese band Supercar, one of Natsubot’s biggest influences with the intention of bringing attention to both the bright side and dark side of city life. With the line-up changing to three guitarists, the band focused less on the use of synthesizers to create their soundscapes and instead dialed back into the good old formula of guitar music; using riffs, melodies, and lyrics to create memorable songs.

For Tracy Hyde – Ethernity

For Tracy Hyde’s latest album, Ethernity, truly embodies the words “ethereal” and “eternity” as their dream pop and shoegaze sound as a band is most apparent here. “Just Like Fireflies” is my personal favourite from the album as the band’s unique melodic and lyrical writing style that can be heard across all 4 albums is emphasized in this song despite its musical arrangement changing to stay true to the genre of dream pop.

Listen to For Tracy Hyde here:

For Tracy Hyde, a shoegaze quintet formed in 2012, has built up a reputation for their dream-like soundscapes and venturesome spirit. Consisting of Eureka, the band’s lead vocalist and band members Natsubot, U-1, Mav, and Soukou, the band has released 4 albums that have showcased their creativity and adaptability to change musical direction within each album cycle. Dabbling in indie pop, j-pop, dream pop or even to some extent, electronic synth-pop, the band reminisces the music of the 90s and have since found their sound in dream pop.

For Tracy Hyde – Film Bleu

Initially starting off with synth-accented indie-pop sounds in songs like “Favourite Blue” or “After” from their debut Film Bleu, the band merges j-pop with indie rock and strokes of electronica. In an interview by From The Intercom, For Tracy Hyde’s guitarist and backing vocalist, Natsubot describes Film Bleu as a product of the Shibuya-kei music he was listening to during his college and graduate school days.

For Tracy Hyde – He(R)Art

Following the release of Film Bleu, For Tracy Hyde’s second album, he(r)art, reflects a more americanized sound as it recalls the likes of The 1975 with their use of catchy up beat guitars and pop-ish vocals. While “Theme for “he(r)art”” explores cinematic synthpop, showcasing their talent for writing thematic soundscapes, the band’s influence from The 1975 is clearly articulated in songs like “Floor”, a personal favourite of mine.

For Tracy Hyde – New Young City

With much focus and dedication, the band continued to release their third album, New Young City, in 2019. In this release, the band’s focus returned towards dream pop and shoegaze though a hint of j-pop can be heard in Eureka’s melodious vocal melodies of the album’s songs. The title New Young City was taken from a song of the same name by the Japanese band Supercar, one of Natsubot’s biggest influences with the intention of bringing attention to both the bright side and dark side of city life. With the line-up changing to three guitarists, the band focused less on the use of synthesizers to create their soundscapes and instead dialed back into the good old formula of guitar music; using riffs, melodies, and lyrics to create memorable songs.

For Tracy Hyde – Ethernity

For Tracy Hyde’s latest album, Ethernity, truly embodies the words “ethereal” and “eternity” as their dream pop and shoegaze sound as a band is most apparent here. “Just Like Fireflies” is my personal favourite from the album as the band’s unique melodic and lyrical writing style that can be heard across all 4 albums is emphasized in this song despite its musical arrangement changing to stay true to the genre of dream pop.

Listen to For Tracy Hyde here:

Sources:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2017/01/22/music/tracy-hyde-polishes-indie-aesthetics-film-bleu/
https://fromtheintercom.com/interview-for-tracy-hyde/