Suddenly, Like Flames

If any Japanese group carried the flame of Les Rallizes Dénudés forward into the twenty-first century, it was LSD March. Indeed, the record nerds currently losing their minds due to the actual, tangible, legitimate availability of Rallizes albums (rather than their beloved bootlegs) would probably experience serious cognitive dissonance on hearing a song like “Black Bouquet,” whose plodding bass, lake-of-murk guitar and consumptive vocals are a dead ringer for Rallizes at their best. But LSD March’s Shinsuke Michishita has more up his sleeve, including a tendency for gorgeous balladry that’s hazy and meandering, making me think of an amped-up Maki Asakawa, or Keiji Haino at his tenderest.