Tokyo Tea Room is a UK-based band formed in 2014 by a group of college students who quickly grew into the success they are today. The band consists of five members: Beth on vocals, Dan on guitar and background vocals, Ben on bass, Sam on drums, and Ryan. Each member plays an integral role in their dreamy, soothing sound. They identify with the genre of dream pop, which is categorized as a subgenre of alternative rock, characterized by key features such as breathy vocals, slow tempos, and introspective lyrics. Tokyo Team Room is often placed in similar categories with other popular bands such as Men I Trust or Rosemary Fairweather. They describe their own sound as “quite dreamy, glassy sounding with hints of pop” (https://whenthehornblows.com/content/2020/5/2/in-conversation-with-tokyo-tea-room).
Dan does much of the songwriting for the group, and in terms of the creative process, he does not take writing too seriously. He mentions in an article about how writing is often a product of having fun. This does have a slightly ironic tone since most of the lyrics found in Tokyo Tea Room’s songs are ones of longing and transience. With their newest album, No Rush, Dan mentions how it feels that every time they start a new album, it is like going back to the drawing board and constantly wanting to learn and cycle to be better. I personally loved this album because of the hazy guitar and how it almost sounds out of this world.
The debut song, “No Rush”, is very serene with more emphasis on the vocals while the sound in the background flushes in and out. It reflects themes of patience and waiting for someone, along with the gratification of finally being able to reconnect. This parallels their next song on the album, “If You Love Her.” This song is much faster-paced and speaks about the anxieties of falling in love. The guitar cuts through the song and gives the song a spacey vibe, which makes it feel like you are daydreaming while listening to the song. The first time I listened, I got chills because of the instrumentation and their artful articulation of such a common feeling.
My personal favorite work of theirs is “Forever Out of Time.” Throughout the song, you can feel the vocalist's passion through the introspective lyrics along with the astral guitar sounds. The lyrics reflect those of trying to move on and getting stuck in nostalgia. As I am getting older, I begin to understand why a lot of my older family members and friends are so nostalgic and ruminate on memories. They want to keep those feelings close and relive good times in their life. This song perfectly captures those feelings while also displaying the harm in it as well; you will never grow if you are unable to move forward.
On the surface, it may not seem like The Code Breakers by Walter Isaacson and Tokyo Tea Room have a lot in common. However, one of the main messages behind many of Tokyo Tea Room’s songs is that of being patient and taking it slow, no matter how hectic the environment surrounding you is. Being in college, we often forget to take things a day at a time while trying to secure jobs or internships, studying for exams, etc. We are constantly looking ahead. The same can be said for science; there is such a high drive for innovation and excellence. However, major breakthroughs took time, and even though it was a race of CRISPR and gene editing, it did not happen immediately. It was years of trial and error before significant breakthroughs were made.
