The Neatbeats

Japanese retro-rock outfit the Neatbeats drew its sonic and stylistic inspiration from 1950s rock, dressing in three-piece suits while echoing Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis and occasionally allowing a Rolling Stones influence to surface. The quartet formed in 1997 when guitarists Manabe Takashi, known as Mr. Pan, and Tosa Kazube, known as Mr. Lawdy, joined bassist Ura Dai, known as Mr. Gully, and drummer Kusube Shinya, known as Mr. Shenn; Manabe assumed lead vocals while the remaining members supplied backing. The group issued its debut single, “Spoilt Girl,” in 1998 and followed it later that year with the full-length Far and Near on the American indie label Get Hip, which also released the sophomore effort Mercurial in 1999. The 2000 releases Everybody Need and the EP There Now appeared on Deckrec, yet by 2002 the band had moved to Universal after Ura Dai departed and Miru Seizen, billed as Mr. Royal, took over on bass. The resulting fifth studio album, Golden Goodies, arrived in 2002 and earned widespread praise as the group’s strongest work; pianist Shirai Mikio of the High-Lows contributed to the sessions, and Neatbeats subsequently toured Japan with that band. Midway through the club dates Kusube exited, prompting Kazuyuki Kuhara of Thee Michelle Gun Elephant to fill the drum chair for the remaining performances. Studio activity remained minimal in 2003, but the lull proved brief: in 2004 the band signed with BMG Funhouse, installed Asahara Keisuke (Mr. Shallow) as its permanent drummer, and delivered Attention Please. Despite Manabe’s concurrent side projects, Neatbeats continued to record, issuing Big Beat Mind in 2005, the covers collection Rock’n’roll Christmas in 2006, a pair of EPs in 2007, and the eighth studio album Roll on Good in 2008.