Second albums are notoriously difficult, especially if an act's first album has been a success. But on "Modern Lights," Kobe-based pop/jazz duo Orange Pekoe have avoided the "sophomore-album syndrome" by broadening their stylistic template to create a work that demands to be listened to on its own terms, not simply as a followup.
"Modern Lights" (due out July 2) is a much more eclectic group of songs than last year's "Organic Plastic Music," which focused on Orange Pekoe's love of jazz and bossa nova.
"I think that on the first album we wanted to give a certain color, so we focused on jazz and bossa nova," says vocalist Tomoko Nagashima. "But on the second album, we wanted to make a collection of our favorite music."