Nelories, the accordion-fueled duo from Japan's ancient capital of Nara, matched cabaret pop sensibilities with naive lyrics that often touched on the surreal - all wrapped up in a girlish vocal delivery and lo-fi production aesthetics - to create a fresh if slightly dark sound during their run in the 90s. Formed early in the decade, the duo comprised Jun Kurihara (vocals, accordion) and Kazumi Kubo (guitars). They released their debut EP Plasticky on the Por Supuesto label in 1991, followed...

Nelories, the accordion-fueled duo from Japan's ancient capital of Nara, matched cabaret pop sensibilities with naive lyrics that often touched on the surreal - all wrapped up in a girlish vocal delivery and lo-fi production aesthetics - to create a fresh if slightly dark sound during their run in the 90s. Formed early in the decade, the duo comprised Jun Kurihara (vocals, accordion) and Kazumi Kubo (guitars). They released their debut EP Plasticky on the Por Supuesto label in 1991, followed by a second EP, Banana, in 1992. Later the same year the duo released its first full-length, Mellow Yellow Fellow. Including songs from the first two EPs along with some previously unreleased cuts, Mellow Yellow Fellow romps through the wacked out imagination of songwriter Kurihara, made all the more abstract by the strangely poetic lyrics all written in her non-native language, English. Two more EPs followed in 1993, along with the full-length Daisy the same year, which was recorded in London by Bid from the Monochrome Set, a band to which Nelories owes an obvious stylistic debt. Fleshed out somewhat from their debut album, Daisy explored both straight pop and torchy numbers, the latter well-served by Kubo's accordion, while still dishing up plenty of their trademark fare. In their last album, Starboogie, Nelories pushed even further into new territory, releasing one more EP the following year before calling it quits. Often compared to Shonen Knife, most likely due to their shared preference for skewed takes on everyday life, Nelories has also captured fans overseas, particularly in England where they released a single. The duo has also released in the United States - an EP entitled Waiting put out by the subscription-based Hello Recording CD of the month club. Both members of Nelories continue to play and record - Kubo most recently with Kazmi with Rickies, and Kurihara with the San Francisco based The Music Lovers.