Shugo Tokumaru's instrumental and melodic dexterity can be dizzying, his pop amalgamations thorough and creative, though on "Linne" -- a single from his Port Entropy LP -- he reins in trickery in favor of a feeling. My Japanese isn't what it used to be, so on first listen the specific intention of "Linne"'s lyrical incantations are indeterminable; paired with this video's simple, fantastical and stately shadowplay, though, its emotional effect registers somewhere between somber reverie and wistful escapism. The year's slowly getting into gear, Shugo's "Linne" is a nice pause on a quiet winter's day.
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Shugo's Port Entropy is out in North America on 2/15 via Polyvinyl.






