Vocals/Guitar: 松本素生 (Matsumoto Sou)
Keyboard: 伊藤洋 (Itoh Youichi)
Guitar/Vocals: 中澤寛規 (Nakazawa Hiroki)
Bass: 石原聡 (Ishihara Satoshi)
Drums: 河野丈洋 (Kohno Takehiro)

Last entry featured a hard rock, which might have been too much for people who haven’t had much exposure to hardcore rock as MJ would say so here’s the band with the soft laid-back melody. Normally I hate slow songs (especially the drowning ones), but Going Under Ground is somehow an exception. If you never liked slow-paced bands like Mr. Children, give Going Under Ground a try.

Going Under Ground is another underground band as the name suggests, but they’re now big enough on the mainstream level like The Back Horn. Our focus is on another vocalist, Sou Matsumoto, the fellow with the thick-framed glasses on the far left of the image above. He’s a genius simply because he’s just a regular guy in every possible way. Remember how animes like Beck always fed you bullshit about how emotions are more important than technique and skills? I always thought that’s not how it works out in the real world until I heard Going Under Ground. Yes, they’re the closest you can get to the rock bands that only appear in fiction. Matsumoto’s one of the few vocalist people can actually empathize and relate to. Try looking up some of their promotion videos. He even looks like a normal no-name guy.

Guess what really puts them apart from bands I don’t listen to like Mr. Children would be the addition of keyboards (synthesized sound.) The band’s mostly just light beat and they never really pull out anything fancy like you see in other well-known underground bands. Even I have to admit the compositions are awfully simple, yet they’re really pleasant and addicting on the ears. Here’s a quote from a site that’s now dead, “My theory is that this addiction is due to the constant yet subtle changes of tempo and styles in the songs, combined with the unfaltering diversity throughout albums.” Whatever, listen for yourself now.

Ageha

Stand By Me

Nijigaoka