Sunset On Tokyo - Demo 1997

Label: self released
Year: 1997

Reverse forensic detective work! Came across this one on the ole computer (aka "Big Phone") a couple days ago, and for the life of me could not remember what it is. Or was. Googling the phrase "Sunset On Tokyo" is frustratingly obvious in its resulting imagery of beautiful twilight photographs over the skyline of...you guessed it...Tokyo Japan. Even adding the words "band", or "demo 1997" did nothing to narrow the search.
So, I got real smart, and I thought, "I'll LISTEN to the files, and maybe that will give me some clue. Or at least give me reason to delete this thing off the computer (a constant chore)". And you know what? That's exactly what I did.
Thirty seconds in, and it was obvious that what we were dealing with was a Jonathan Rothman related project of some sort another. An self-respecting Car Vs Driver fan worth their salt could i.d. that guitar style from fifty paces. The first of the four songs on this demo sounds like it absolutely could have been a lost Car Vs Driver song, which in my book, is a goddamn good thing.
Well now, if you're digging for dirt on any ephemera even tangentially smelling like mid-90's Atlanta emo, then you're wasting your time if you aren't dialing up James Joyce's (yes, THEE James Joyce), dare I say, obsessive Beyond Failure blog. It's the internet's premiere repository for useful Atlanta-centric music knowledge circa 1989-1999(ish). Possibly the internet's only repository for such information.
And wouldn't you know it? Mystery fucking solved! Sunset On Tokyo was in fact the band Jonathan Rothman formed after moving away from Atlanta, and his former band Car Vs Driver. This demo is all they recorded, but if you are a fan of Jon's work in CVD (and you should be) then this is more than just a "lost relic". In the vein of good emo, before you couldn't even say "emo" without shaking your head in disgust. Real deal, emotive post hardcore.

For your viewing pleasure, please enjoy this photo of a Sunset On Tokyo.

DL