Formed in 2018 with vocalist Tsuzumi (OCHA∞ME) and guitarist Jun (HATEMAN, Gorillaor︎). Drummer Karin (The Highmarts), and bassist Poppo Professor joined later. Poppo went on sabbatical in late 2020 and Chiba (M.A.Z.E.) has just taken up bass duties. All members are in their mid-twenties, and met in the underground music scene in the Shimokitazawa area of Tokyo. Hazy Sour Cherry are bigs fans of BMX Bandits, Young Fresh Fellows, Go-Kart Mozart, Raspberries (JP), Firestarter (JP), as well as The Beatles and Rolling Stones and their Damnably label mates Say Sue Me.
Earlier this year, the band performed as part of the Damnably online showcase for SXSW 2021, and ‘Wales Goes Pop‘ virtual festival, and have been playing socially distanced shows around Japan as it opened up more post Olympics. They will be releasing their newest album, Strange World, on June 2022 by Damnably Records.
“Cute as a button and shiny like one, too, Hazy Sour Cherry’s Tour De Tokyo is enthusiastic indie pop that has the rickety, carefree feel of a group of pals banging it out in the basement just for kicks. Singing in both Japanese and English, the quartet sunnily skim the surface of all the rock genres you already love—bubblegum, surf, twee, garage, and even some old fashioned doo-wop—for a mix that’s wound-up but still sugar-sweet, like if Peach Kelli Pop had put out singles on Sarah Records in 1989. Hazy Sour Cherry have even thrown in a vaguely unrecognizable Rolling Stones cover for the true heads. Nothing not to love here, so grab your anorak, loser. We’re going for a bike ride.”
Marinana Timony, Bandcamp Daily
“Tour De Tokyo is, in a lot of ways, the perfect album. The use of light melancholy works as a cohesive bond between each songs’ varying intensities and slight stylistic changes. So what am I saying? Well, Hazy Sour Cherry manages to break free of the monotonous uniformity that befall most indie, punk, and rock acts, which is incredibly refreshing and hopeful.”
Resident Sound
“Hazy Sour Cherry. It sounds less like a band name and more like a craft microbrew you’d find at the most hipster-iffic watering hole you can think of, but no, it is indeed a band. A very fun band coming out of Tokyo and making delightful, poppy indie rock. Case in point: “Tour de Tokyo” – I dare you to listen to that song and try not to bop along with it.”
Panic Manual