This Japanese underground group recorded their debut for the PSF label after making a standout appearance on the label's Tokyo Flashback 3 compilation.

Their dark, ethereal sound makes them the perfect bridge between the psychedelic overload of fellow Tokyo underground acts Fushitsusha and the melancholy Baroque-folk of Ghost.

Shizuka's self-titled debut is strikingly accessible, considering that it appears on one of the most courageous of experimental labels.

PSF typically deals in free improvisation, noise, and psychedelia, and while Shizuka certainly address the influence of said genres, they embody this influence in an entirely unique way.

While this trio is certainly falls under the umbrella of the latter -- the spacey ambience and haunting female vocals suggest a gothic atmosphere laced with folk instrumentation.

Piano and cello embellish the simplistic arrangements of guitar and voice delivered in lilting patterns.

At the apex of every song a corrosive Keiji Haino-esque guitar often cuts through the tranquil proceedings, drenching the calm in feedback and noise.

These tantrums of chaos sound just as awkwardly juxtaposed, yet strangely they make perfect sense in expressing the catharsis that the album is always hinting at.