DOG ORCHESTRA’S “I THINK I’M IN TOKYO” SEARCHES FOR REAL HUMAN CONNECTION

Stockholm, Sweden's Dog Orchestra breaches the distance and rediscovers real romance on "I Think I'm In Tokyo," the newest single from their highly anticipated Spoon EP.

Sophia Coppola's Lost In Translation is considered a highlight of early naughties indie romance, kickstarting Scarlet Johansson's career in earnest and reintroducing the world to Bill Murray and early 90s shoegaze when it included numerous My Bloody Valentine on its iconic soundtrack. Lost In Translation is ostensibly about two American expats who connect during a trip to Tokyo. In retrospect, however, it's actually about the impossible distance between people, places, and things. They're surrounded by Tokyo but they're not in it - the distance is an unbreachable as the rain-soaked windowpanes while My Bloody Valentine's "Sometimes" crashes against the neon skyline.

Rather than romantic, Lost In Translation is more about the appearance of romance and intimacy, the allure of two snow globes bumping up against one another. Fascination, yes, and plenty of appreciation, to be sure, but the warm, gooey, often messy realness of real connection are in short supply.

DOG ORCHESTRA - I THINK I’M IN TOKYO

On their newest single, Stockholm, Sweden's Dog Orchestra wonders what might happen if we were to throw a cinder block through the plate glass display window of carefully coiffed and cultivated public personas, if we can reach out and cross the gap to find real human connection in this year of our Lord 2022.

"I Think I'm in Tokyo" follows fellow 21st Century shoegaze revivalists like M83 in recreating a lush, cinematic blend of shoegaze and synthpop, emphasizing the Romanticism of bands like Echo and the Bunnymen and sounding like a Senior Prom slow dance in the process. They're not trying to recreate the 80s, though - the soft focus production makes "I Think I'm in Tokyo" more of an impressionist portrait of the 80s - youthful, optimistic, and ready to take on the world.

As we begin to segue into life after lockdown, you can rest assured people are going to be hungry for real, honest-to-goodness connection. Let "I Think I'm in Tokyo" be your soundtrack.

J. Simpson occupies the intersection between criticism, creativity, and academia. Based out of Portland, Or., he is the author of Forestpunk, an online journal/brand studying the traces of horror, supernatural, and the occult through music, fashion and culture. He plays in the dreamfolk band Meta-Pinnacle with his partner Lily H. Valentine, with whom he also co-founded Bitstar Productions, a visual arts collective focused on elevating Pop Culture to High Art.