Hailing from chilly Aomori Prefecture, far to the north of the teeming Tokyo metropolis, Supercar has quickly morphed from UK guitar band soundalike into a pioneer in experimental music with a fully-formed musical vision. Often compared to Radiohead, another sometimes experimental group that has managed to capture and keep the public's attention, Supercar is in the enviable position of being able to simultaneously follow their muse and maintain a significant fan base. The group was formed in...

Hailing from chilly Aomori Prefecture, far to the north of the teeming Tokyo metropolis, Supercar has quickly morphed from UK guitar band soundalike into a pioneer in experimental music with a fully-formed musical vision. Often compared to Radiohead, another sometimes experimental group that has managed to capture and keep the public's attention, Supercar is in the enviable position of being able to simultaneously follow their muse and maintain a significant fan base. The group was formed in 1995, recording demos and gigging sporadically until the release of their first single "Cream Soda" in 1997. "Lucky" and "Planet" appeared shortly thereafter, and all three singles were included on their first long player, Three Out Change. The record showed the influence of such UK guitar rock heavies as My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Ride; a sound that would soon earn them a small but rabid overseas following. At home in Japan, inital response to the album was good, and with the track "Drive" being featured on a late-night television show, momentum was growing. The group's second album, Jump Up, accelerated their rise and hinted at a broader sonic pallette, spawning the hits "My Girl", "Jump", and "Sunday People". The album hit #2 on the Japanese charts, helping to win the band a coveted opening spot at the Tokyo concert of indie darlings Pavement. In the year 2000, their third full-length Futurama was released. Strongly influenced by dance music, electronica, and techno, Futurama represented a turning point for the band. While not fully realized, the Supercar sound was beginning to change. 2002's Highvision represented a watershed for the band. With even more emphasis on the ambient and electronic facets of their music, Highvision showed off a band at its peak in terms of expression and stylistic consistency. After releasing a song collection and DVD in 2003, the band dropped their fifth album Answer in February, 2004. Containing the singles "Recreation", "BGM", and "Last Scene", the album showed off equal parts of the old and new Supercar - with plenty of the guitar rock that had been absent on their last release mixed in with the more experimental elements. Sounding every bit as raw and vital as early releases, varied instumentation and polished songwriting made this release yet another step forward in the band's evolution. Sadly, the band broke up in early 2005, citing the desire of the members to pursue other musical endeavors.