A-band-oned again

I was shocked the other day to find out months after the fact that my favorite band, Do As Infinity, broke up! I never saw it coming, especially since the last thing they released was a single; you’d think they’d try to end on an album.

All is not lost, though, because the lead singer Tomiko Van will apparently be pursuing a solo career. The only problem there is the unsettling precedent of The Brilliant Green‘s Tomoko Kawase. When TBG broke up she also did a solo thing, which turned into two solo things, both of which are downright weird.

The first solo project was Tommy february6, where most of her songs are glittery disco-pop numbers that frankly I’d be embarrassed to be found listening to in the US. Her goal seems to be to explore her cute, quirky side, but I think she’s working too hard on cute and quirky and not enough on making good music.

The second solo project is where it gets weird: Tommy heavenly6. This is a glam-rock spinoff of Tommy february6, but with a bizarre twist. I read a quick blurb about the Tommies and it went something like this: Tommy february and Tommy heavenly are both separate personalities of the same person. Tommy heavenly, the hard rocker, is jealous of the success of Tommy february, not realizing that they’re the same person. This is where you just nod and slowly back away. I like this Tommy’s music better, but of the two personalities she seems to be on the backburner with only one album out so far.

The Tommies haven’t put out anything all that great, and the other former TBG band members aren’t interesting enough to follow. Suffice it to say, I miss The Brilliant Green. Please don’t do something crazy like this, Tomiko Van.