Around 50 people are watching Kaznary Mutow of the band Boys Age thrash his guitar on a Friday night at Shimokitazawa club Three. He¡¯s in the middle of a 10-minute-plus psychedelic freakout, locked into an intense slow-burning session with drummer Takamasa Kobayashi.
It¡¯s a bit jarring, because for the past 30 minutes the Saitama duo had been playing breezy rock and catchy mid-tempo tunes. Mutow wears denim overalls, a baseball hat and plastic sunglasses, a playful outfit suitable for a guy who spends the bulk of Boys Age¡¯s set grinning and singing like he has a bag of marbles in his throat. But the goofy charm has vanished during this final stretch. It¡¯s a focused switch, fitting for a band who has spent the past four years going off in all sorts of directions.
¡°I observe everything around me,¡± Mutow says. ¡°It¡¯s like I¡¯m a desert, and I immediately absorb any drop of water. All the music I hear becomes part of me.¡±
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