Crossing Togo, Of Love, Scorn, and Insecurity

Relatively new on the scene, Crossing Togo consists of two men who create wonderful music together. They possess a pop-rock feel, with steady guitars and a likeable singing voice. Their songs are like a journey into a colorful landscape, with transcendentalist themes related to nature and a person’s true essence. There are no “I love you”s or “my heart is broken”s here. All references to relationships are done through complex concoctions of words which require you to read between the lines for comprehension.

This duo sounds like Radiohead at times, with somewhat intense guitars and strange arrangements. Ko Nakamura is a relatively well-known lyricist outside the band, and his relatively high-pitched singing voice sounds like Damon Gough from Badly Drawn Boy. The lyrics here are very literary, using a lot of imagery, similes, metaphors, and plenty of rhyming. The words read like poetry in the lyric booklet. Everything Ko sings can be imagined into a vivid picture by the listener, like an eclectic painting.

On track two, “Delilah” (not to be confused with the Plain White T’s hit song) Nakamura sings, “you danced as though nothing could fall,” alongside a pretty guitar melody and chords on a piano. Track eight, “Autumn Sunshine,” opens with, “You take your place where the colors bleed through the canvas / where the air tastes like kiwi and passion,” and continues wistfully until the chorus, which utilizes an odd vocal effect. Track nine, “Like Water,” warns, “Never going to be what you wanted her to be / She’s got her own set of sails,” over an interesting, countryish banjo part that turns more rock when he says, “Hard as glass / but you move like water.”

Texan guitarist/composer Scott Spencer met Japanese lyricist/vocalist Ko Nakamura on Craigslist here in Houston. It took them two years to write this debut, with help from a slew of musicians, including Steve Christensen and Dave Alberta on drums, Max Dyer on cello, Dan Workman on keyboard, and Brendan Buckley on percussion. Crossing Togo has an easily accessible sound I think anyone could like, given the opportunity, but their best bet for getting new fans hinges on connecting with people who crave good lyrics.