Half Japanese – Overjoyed

Oh, Jad Fair! A true rival to Guided By Voices’ Robert Pollard in the (mind-bogglingly) prolific indie veteran stakes, he’s also a testament to the power of unschooled and unfettered imagination, having penned scores of lo-fi classics without being bothered by such trivialities as learning how to tune a guitar. Overjoyed is the first album released under the Half Japanese moniker since 2001’s Hello, and guess what? It’s great. 

A sense of optimistic romance dominates. “Don’t let your time pass you by,” he advises a lover during The Time Is Now, but such is the urgency of his wide-eyed delivery that it feels like he’s addressing each and every one of us. One for the world’s bedsits, all in all, but no less powerful for that – noisepop nuggets like We Are Sure and Our Love come doused with an inescapable joie de vivre, certain to burrow its way into the hearts of true believers everywhere. [Will Fitzpatrick]