The members of Ogre You Asshole are bracing for something. At least, that's what the title of their seventh album, "Handoru o Hanasu Mae Ni" ("Before Letting Go of the Handle") suggests. (The album's official English title is the less tense "Everythingsomethingnothing.")
"It's not really an emotional state, like dread or excitement, but just the dry feeling that something may happen," songwriter, singer and guitarist Manabu Deto tells The Japan Times from the Tokyo office of the band's label, P-Vine Records. "It's like the Leaning Tower of Pisa; it's about to fall, but you don't really feel anything."
Deto is joined by his bandmates — guitarist and songwriter Kei Mabuchi, bassist Takashi Shimizu and drummer Takashi Katsuura — who insist that the Leaning Tower metaphor isn't a reference to the band's future. Regardless, the album shows a newly found restraint not seen in Ogre's earlier work. After being together for a decade, with experiences touring the United States and working with labels both major and independent, the band has amassed a dedicated following in Japan and a small fan base abroad, with notable musicians such as The Smiths' guitarist Johnny Marr among them.