For those of you that have never been exposed to the jangly sophistication of Japan’s The Laundries, this The Selection of the Laundries compilation album, out of the increasingly essential blue-very label, offers the perfect place to become acquainted with them with ten of their most special tracks over the last 20+ years.

Plainly influenced by the neo-acoustic/ guitar pop sounds of acts like Nick Heyward, Aztec Camera, and the scouse-pop of Shack and Pale Fountains, and in turn an obvious influence for fellow Japanese acts such as Luby Sparks and Pillows, this album simply teems with jangled sophistication.

With a neo-acoustic core as the constant companion the album takes subtle detours into various 80 and 90s pop persuasions. As such ド​ラ​イ​ブ​の​日​に and Teenage Song take on a Scritti Pollitti and Prefab Sprout sophisti-pop stance, whereas the languid cultured pop of the Michael Head & the Red Elastic Band aesthetic drifts through  Bell & Co and Rain and feels like the perfect antithesis of twee-pop inflected tracks such as Reel Around The Station Square and I Call Your Name.

Grab yourself a vinyl LP or digital copy from here and I promise you it will not be very far from your stereo for many years to come.

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