That Shintaro Sakamoto is a man of supreme taste is something we’ve known for years – decades, even. From the magnetic grooves of Yura Yura Teikoku right through to last year’s sumptuously soft The Feeling of Love EP, Sakamoto has long displayed a palate for the exquisite. And Sakamoto is, predictably, as tasteful as ever again on Monogatari no yō ni [Like a Fable], his first full-length in six years and fourth solo work overall. Sakamoto struts across the disc, entertaining bits of gentle funk, plodding exotica and twanging rock ‘n’ roll, all whilst dabbling in a kind of wistful, aloof absurdity. With lyrics concerning the ways in which everyday life transformed during the pandemic, rarely has alienation and upheaval been presented with such appeal.

Listen to “The Whereabouts of Romance” below.