Kactus
Japan
Kactus, the often forgotten older brother of Peatmos and Pervenche, were "A group of nerds with little voices". Their 1995 cassette "Take Five Songs" was the first standalone release on Clover Records, soldifying them as one of the most important bands on the label.
[NEW] Why Kactus, Why K? by Kactus
29th April 2025
Self proclaimed "nerdy, lo-fi psychedelic guitar-pop" strikes again.
Another day, another release from Clover Records. This was actually released yesterday but I didn't read the email until just before I logged off.
The latest comp from Clover's archives is from one of their first bands, Kactus. Kactus was Saito's first band before Peatmos and was one of the few Clover bands to get their music released outside Japan during its day. This release complies some of those works from US labels Sonorama and Fuzzy Box, as well as Japanese label Cream Cone (and of course Clover).
Admitedlly, I haven't listened to too much of Kactus before. Maybe I should write a post about them here one day. Looking at the artwork for this release, I'm certainly intrigued by them now. One of their singers looks so young in the photo, and they even have a non-Japanese member ("Richard Stephens" on guitar... pretty rare for a 90s band). I hear that Richard had connections to Sonorama and that's how they managed to get released onto that label. What an intresting group!
Anyway, you can listen to the album over on Clover Records Bandcamp page. With all this new stuff coming out, it makes me wonder... Will we get something cool for Bandcamp Friday? It's this week after all. Last time we got old live recordings from Red Go-Cart, what will we get this time? Potato Week?... Let a popkid dream, ok?!
By the way, this release is different from the other "Why Kactus, Why K?" comp from 2023. Weird!