Four years after the previous “Like a Fable”, Shintaro Sakamoto returns, former leader of Yura Yura Teikoku (until 2011) and author, as a soloist, of five albums. “Yoo-Hoo” is a little less electric and synthetic than the previous one, but the usual ingredients are all there: 'mellow groove' to make the ten tracks hypnotic, funk hints, jazzy and Caribbean flow, mood psychedelic.
Sakamoto works above all on the atmosphere, on the rhythm, on the control of the sound that unfolds in space, and which is stratified as the instruments dialogue with each other, adding up in the harmonies and taking up their own spaces in the fillers scattered here and there. The voice stands out above all this, in a slowly articulated Japanese, which will sound exotic to many who are unfamiliar with it, but also clear in its patient scansion of the syllables. The voice is sometimes strengthened by the presence of male and female choirs, which add a very discreet city pop touch.
“Yoo-hoo” is not an album of dreamlike digressions, however: in pieces like “Justice” and “Dear Grandpa”, Sakamoto addresses the political and generational chaos of our time. He does it without shouting, but with a spirit of observation. And then there is “Numb”, a song that is unique in his repertoire: it is an unusually energetic piece for his standards, a muscular funk, pressing and strengthened by the sax (also the protagonist of a notable solo).
Sakamoto continues his work in contemporary song, building an environment and livening it up with rhythm and words, with sometimes retro sounds and contemporary solutions. Lounge enough to relax, funky enough to dance to, pop enough to (try to) hum it.
02/13/2026
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
