There are two grown men on my futon playing with dolls, and I'm standing above them taking photos. We're all dripping in sweat, and I'm hoping my girlfriend doesn't suddenly come home and catch us at it. She might get the wrong idea.

This month's column is about kinky sex. No, I'm kidding. It's about the brilliantly named band Cruyff in the Bedroom, and with a moniker like that a photo shoot like this just had to happen.

But, with the air-con on the blink, we decide to call the session to an abrupt halt. The two guys, singer/guitarist Yusuke Hata and lead guitarist Shigekazu Sannohe, pack up their dolls -- of legendary Dutch soccer player Johann Cruyff and his less successful soccer-playing son, Jordi -- and we head to a nearby cafe.

Not surprisingly, given their band's name, Yusuke and Shigekazu are obsessed with soccer. The group -- bassist Hideyuki Hironaka and drummer Tsuyoshi Miyagawa are absent today -- formed during the 1998 World Cup in France and released their debut album, "Perfect Silence," on the opening day of this year's World Cup finals.

"I love the image of Cruyff. There is no one quite like him. He is the No. 1 coolest guy," says Yusuke. "Do you know the story about when Holland was supplied with Adidas uniforms in the 1974 World Cup? He removed one of Adidas' three lines because his personal sponsor was Puma and he didn't want to wear Adidas. At that time, of course, I was a kid wearing Puma."

Yusuke's eyes gloss over, and then he seems to snap out of it, takes a swig of his vodka tonic and lights another ciggie.

Why is Cruyff in the bedroom? Is it anything to do with sex?

"No. The bedroom is a private, special place. It's where Cruyff can truly express his deepest feelings when he's in a bad mood or in a bad condition. It is where he can be himself. And when we started the band, we wanted to express our inner feelings, our weaknesses, everything. So the name is symbolic."

Do you want to be really big?

"Of course we want to sell as many records as possible."

Maybe you should rename the band Beckham in the Bedroom.

"We don't aim to be the new Oasis or anything," he says, laughing. "If one audience member connects with us at a show I'm happy. And I wouldn't want all those Beckham fans. It's not about music then."

And Cruyff in the Bedroom are deadly serious about their music. In fact, they are the leaders of an emerging scene of earnest indie guitar-rock bands that seem to mainly hang out and play at Shimokitazawa's Club Que. They've secured distribution deals for the new album in the U.K., Sweden and the U.S., where Yusuke says it's selling best.

During the Britpop years, Club Que held indie club events like Getting Better, playing mainstream rock by the likes of Blur and Oasis. But now, by maintaining its roots in jangly guitar pop, Que has come full circle and is arguably more alternative than other live venues in Tokyo that are dominated by the last big thing, nu-metal, or the new big thing, garage-punk.

Cruyff -- and other new bands like Golden Syrup Lovers, Salt Water Taffy, All Tomorrow's Parties and Gash -- remind us of the pre-Oasis days of Creation Records when bands like Boo Radleys, Ride and Teenage Fanclub were the leading lights of the British indie rock scene.

The buzz of feedback on most Cruyff tracks is reminiscent of another Creation band, The Jesus and Mary Chain. But why call the album "Perfect Silence?"

"The drone of the feedback makes me think of a white light," Yusuke says. "It is noise, but it is also perfectly quiet. It gives me a peaceful feeling. When I made this album I often went to see paintings. If you look at a Monet, you can see the light coming in and the color changing. I get a similar feeling with Shige's guitar sound. How it washes over and through all the music."

Yusuke might talk about light, but his lyrics are dark, dominated by feelings of despair. He lives in a twilit world and dreams of a more beautiful place.

Song titles include "I Hate the Sun," "Dream All Day" and "Another World," and the album kicks off with the lyric "I hate myself."

"This is serious. I really cannot like myself," he says. "I have lots of ups and downs. When I woke up this morning, my chair was upside down. Sometimes I wake up and my PC is upside down, too, and I cannot remember why I did it. But nothing ever gets broken."

Yusuke has written just one soccer-themed song, "Tear Six."

"I'm a big fan of Gamba Osaka, and we lost the final against Kashima Antlers and dropped to the No. 6 position. On the way back from the game, we crashed our car and had a big argument with the cops. The first part of the song is about the game, the second about the crash. When I wrote it, I felt depressed and pathetic because of the two events. I felt that I was always going to be a loser."

What is a loser?

"You would know if you spent a week with me."

Is this why your obsession stretches to Jordi Cruyff, too (Yusuke's e-mail address includes Jordi's name). His father was a winner, but . . .

"He's a kind of loser. That's exactly it. His father was one of the top footballers ever. Compared to his father, I imagine Jordi is always depressed and having problems. It started at Manchester United."

Where he wasn't picked . . .

"Yes, that represents his pathetic-ness. His hopeless situation. I feel empathy with Jordi Cruyff."

So are you gonna be the Johann or Jordi Cruyff of Japanese music?

"Probably Jordi. Heheh. But, of course, we want to be the Johann."