A desire not to conform

Alternative rock band from Fukuoka, Japan, formed in 2020. That's all their profile says. So why are we writing about Aldo Van Eyck? Well, it has been a while since we heard something as raw and honest as 'Soldier March', so we will try to fill the missing dots.

Japan has a long history of Garage Rock and Punk, remember Fukushima's band The Stalin? Aldo Van Eyck are youngsters though, and it is quite satisfying to see that spirit is still alive. Something crystallised in the land of the rising sun since bands like Friction caught up with punk in the seventies, a desire not to confirm and use punk as a valve to express individuality. It is a naivety we almost lost over here, after decades of commercialisation and continuos permutations of the genre that was once only for outsiders.