"Bank emerged from the underground scene of the early ’90s: Tokyo Neo-Acid〜 early club music” Crue-L (led by Kenji Takimi), and was formed in 2006 by musicians who had been part of the legendary bands Bridge, Love Tambourines, and Arch—true pioneers of the “Shibuya-kei” movement. The core members are Dai Nakamura (guitar, vocals) and Nozomi Suzuki (drums). While their motto is simply “good music played well” without any gimmicks, their indelible roots in new wave, post-punk, neo-acoustic, fake jazz, and funk-latina—along with Nakamura’s irrepressible love for the ’80s—naturally come through, resulting in a sound that blurs the lines between old and new (for some reason, everyone in the band loves Duran Duran).

Supporting Nakamura’s somewhat impersonal songwriting are bassist Fumio Hirami—whose rhythmic foundation is rooted in AOR (ex. Love Tambourines) and Suzuki, whose signature is YMO-style drumming devoid of groove. The strangely pleasant, urban groove born from this mismatch is also part of the appeal. Mixing and mastering were handled by Tomoki Kanda (a genius!), a longtime ally since the ’90s.”