All good things come to an end … but can that end point contain a metamorphosis into something yet greater? I mean, yes, that often is the case, but also I hope so because nothing that Shihatsu-machi Underground has ever done has been anything less than “perfectly fine” and very often soars to levels that most idol projects merely dream about. The other day, they released their fourth in a series of four new (digital) singles, all on~or~about the 10th of each month, and the last two of which getting their own MVs. The last was quite the experience; this one is a little more subdued, thank goodness, because it’s literally exactly all I ever need from a Shihatsu-machi video:

What a charming, well-executed project. I am required again to point out that this is a true indie, you guys, basically a group of friends who decided to do a thing, and that thing has turned out pretty great. Maybe they’re working more with manager types behind the scenes now — I don’t know, like 73% of all those who read this post are better acquainted with the inner workings of the Idolverse now than I, a nearly 5% change since 2018! — but frankly it doesn’t so much matter for the purposes of this discussion. What we are concerned with here is straight aesthetic, which is not to say a e s t h e t i c because I’m writing this and not Kerrie, and that aesthetic is almost impossibly cool, lo-fi and kind of grungy and deeply urban and anachronistic in the sense that it exists as a perfect coolness singularity simultaneously in and out of all musical trends in history.

For the uninitiated, I invite you to look at this live from last year (forgive the different lineup, like) and take in both the general congruence between recording and live vocals, and also their unique choreography that does a great job of telling a story in a way that most idol choreo just plain doesn’t. Again, this started as friends doing a thing, and even the possible addition of some choreo grifter to spice up the dance moves doesn’t take anything away from the glorious foundation these young women built straight out of their own brains:

But yeah, if you don’t like Shihatsu-machi Underground, you’re wrong. Let’s hope they have a few more songs in the can and will give us another album sometime soon!