Betcover!! | Artist
Betcover!! is a Japanese Art-Rock band formed 2016 in Tokyo by frontman Jiro Yanase. The present day lineup consists of Yanase (vocals, guitar) with Rokuro Iwakata (drums), Riki Hidaka (guitar), Hayato Yoshida (bass), and Romantic (piano). Singer-songwriter Yanase started playing music with a vintage digital recording system and released his first EP at the age of 18, in 2017. This created the foundation for the formation of betcover!! which has since become one of the leading band's on japan's vibrant indie-rock scene. Yanase’s music has influences from different artists, not only to the latest indie rock or pop music, but also old blues, R&B and Rock’n Roll, including legendary Japanese musicians like RC Succession, INU and Fishmans. Since the 2019 release of their debut album Love Forever, the band's underlying melodic J-rock sound has taken on a more restless sensibility, one in which fierce jazz-rock sits next to their lounge-ready ballads. Their sound is characterised by soothing melodies which shift to a more aggressive tone, creating a completely different perspective to their eerily dark poetic lyrics. This mood transition feels intuitive to the band members who produce a tight ensemble sound. When commenting on the excellent 2022 album Tamago, Yanase stated his aim was to experiment with the band's sound to convey a sense of timelessness.. "I wanted to make something like accompanying music using ambient, classical, and jazz recordings as references.. or I referenced the ambient albums of bands like Dirty Three, which includes Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds member Warren Ellis. Their music brings to mind the scene the piece is trying to depict". Several commentators have likened Jiro Yanase's sound to that of the UK's multi-talented Archy Marshall aka King Krule. To-date the band has released five consistently good studio albums and two excellent live albums, along with EP's and Singles. Standout albums include Jikan (2021), Tamago (2022) and Uma (2023), plus the live albums 20210829 (2021) and Gabyō (2023). Guitarist Riki Hidaka also has a number of solo albums, including collaborations with electro-acoustic guru Jim O'Rourke.
Artist Website: betcover.bandcamp.com
Featured Albums: Betcover!!
Related Artists: Yanase Jiro
Collections: Movers Shakers
