Fujiya & Miyagi release tracklist, commentary for Lightbulbs

When you’re British and named Fujiya & Miyagi, after a character from an American film (The Karate Kid) with Japanese and Okinawan motifs, putting something out for the sake of clarity may not be the worst idea in the world.

So the idea of releasing brief commentaries along with the tracklist for F&M's second LP, Lightbulbs (due out in the U.S. Sept, 16), is a step in the direction toward a mutual understanding between the band and the general public.

While it received critical acclaim, it felt as if you couldn’t get through a story on the bands’ impressive 2007 debut full length Transparent Things without an obligatory “if you liked Hot Chip you’ll love these guys” reference. But at the very least, these song descriptions give the impression the newly expanded quartet is going for a certain added depth beyond the calculatedly layered dance-pop on this new record.

But with descriptions like “Steel City synths add swathes of texture as we escort a goosebumped couple through a park full of Stella Artois and stale beefburger-addled lowlifes proving that love blossoms between many thorns,” one can’t help but feel like we’re reading the teaser for the next Roddy Doyle novel and not track five on a German-influenced narrative-based dance album. Regardless, the teasers only add intrigue to the groups highly anticipated follow-up, which apparently contains storylines dealing with everything from Bobby Fischer to Bresson.

So then, here is Lightbulbs' tracklist.

1. Knickerbocker Glory
2. Uh
3. Pickpocket
4. Goosebumps
5. Rook To Queen's Pawn Six
6. Sore Thumb
7. Dishwasher
8. Pteradactyls
10. Pussyfooting
11. Light Bulbs
12. Hundreds And Thousands

And yes, we realize there is no track nine. And no, we don’t know why. Maybe F&M were big Pluto fans and this is their memoriam?

Related links:
Fujiya-Miyagi.co.uk
Fujiya & Miyagi on MySpace
YouTube: Fujiya & Miyagi - "Ankle Injuries"

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