To begin, a quick overview of the Japanese words in the band name and album title gives a nice first impression of the phrases, poetically vague as they may be. A translation of their band name (ことは、と in Japanese) would be something like “The Thing Is, …” or “About That, …”, and the album title (白をまとえば) something like When/If I Wear White.

Shiro o Matoeba includes eight beautifully delicate songs, all originals with music written by the three musicians individually. All lyrics were written by vocalist Tsuchiya and are sung in Japanese, except for the two tracks #5 “Vocalise” and #6 “Flower” which Tsuchiya sings in wordless vocalization using her voice as an instrument along with the piano and bass.

The album sequencing is also artful, as the opening and closing tracks (#1 “Shiro o Matoeba” and #8 “Dialog”) act as the album’s prologue and epilogue with storytelling timing and decorative musical structures folded like origami. Along the same lines, track #4 “Maware” (まわれ, turn) features a spoken-word recitation over musical loops and appears in the middle of the album as an intermission of poetry and music.

Bracketed by these three pieces, the rest of the songs find the three musicians playing in a more straightforward and jazzy style. #2 “Selene’s Dance” is a highlight with its romantic and mysterious atmosphere depicting the drama of Selene. This Greek goddess of the moon had her lover Endymion placed in eternal sleep, and eternal youth, out of love, and visited him each night. Compellingly, the tune initially seems to share certain characteristics with other great songs—Radiohead’s “Exit Music (For a Film)” and Chopin’s “Prelude, Op. 28, No. 4”—but “Selene’s Dance” moves along at a brisk pace with the spice of 5/4 time and additional well-placed beats of punctuation.

Other songs are just as evocative and moving. Track #3 “Higenashi” (ひなげし, poppy) is a pretty waltz with a fragile lightness obscuring a weighty past love as Tsuchiya’s high-reaching vocals express a vulnerable sweetness brilliantly. #5 “Vocalize” is a crafted jazz sculpture with an almost operatic melody and space for bass and piano jazz improvisations. #6 “Flower” opens into a slowly sad, Latin mood with pop lovesong fringes. #7 “Muchu Sampo” (夢中散歩, wandering in a dream) is another odd-meter addiction where striking chords angle over plumb bass notes with coordinated accents over shifting sands.

Speaking of odd-meter, the use of non-4/4 time signatures on Shiro o Matoeba adds to the overall allure of the Koto ha, To’s music. Additional measures, mixed meters, and asymmetrical phrases are carefully inserted in the written scores in several places. Along with the charm of the three dramatic rubato and stop-start pieces, over half of the songs feature non-4/4/ meters (3/4, 5/4, and 7/4) with extra measures or beats used subtly to adorn specific points in the delivery.

Lyrics

(Lyrics transcribed from the liner notes, with English translations by me)

1. 白をまとえば when i wear white

Lyrics: Ayako Tsuchiya Music: Kozue Tsukayama

白をまとえば when i wear white

苛立つ風は優しく gentle, restless wind

冷たい水は甘温く sweetly mild, cool water

流した涙は flowing tears

さらさらと smoothly

さらさらと smoothly

わたしに自然に融けてゆく melt naturally into me

さびしく人をもとむ日も on days i’m lonely, desiring another

白をまとえば when i wear white

白をまとえば when i wear white

震えた樹々に隠れて hide in the trembling trees

血汐は緩く湧き上る blood slowly rises

抱えた痛みは carried pain

ひたひたと slowly

ひたひたと slowly

わたしに自然に融けてゆく melts naturally into me

はげしく日とを想う日も on days i think intensely of the past

白をまとえば when i wear white

2. Selene’s dance

Lyrics: Ayako Tsuchiya Music: Yuki Ito

なぞる指でそっと閉じる瞼 fingers trace and gently close eyes

濡れた口に甘い媚薬を sweet aphrodisiac on moistened mouth

しどけない貴方にかけた魔法で by a spell cast on innocent you

綺麗なまま永遠に remain beautiful forever

解けることなく never lifted

夢をみせ続けてあげる i’ll keep you dreaming

眩しい光に身を委ねて yield to the dazzling light

溶けてゆくよに愛を誓って、と melting away, pledging love -

虚ろな瞳に願ってみても try to beg of vacant eyes

無駄ね it’s hopeless

朝が来る頃に when morning comes

銀の船は呼ぶ the silver vessel calls

また夜を待つだけ just wait for night again

冷たい胸に燃えた火花 burnt spark in my cold heart

望みは一つ今日も誓って？ one wish, promise me again today?

穏やかに空は限りの時を告げるの calm sky marks the time’s end

香り染み付けて soaked-in scent

髪引かれながら as hair is pulled

また夜を待つだけ just waiting for night again

3. ひげなし

Lyrics: Ayako Tsuchiya Music: Yuki Ito

頬を撫でた　五月の風 a may wind caressed my cheeks

青い匂いが　抑えにきた scent of youth came to restrain me

可愛い夢　並べれたね we arranged cute dreams, didn’t we

叶いもしないこと things that could never come true

隠してたのは what i was hiding

知ってたから because i knew

胸に咲いた　花は見せなかった unrevealed flowers bloomed in my heart

目と目が合う　君が笑う our eyes meet, you smile

丘を駆け上がれば　街は遠くへ run up the hill and the town fades away

陽の光に　紛れ込んで mixed in the sunlight

もろい幻　拾った i grasped a delicate vision

指先から　流れてゆく slipping from my fingertips

君の優しいとこ your gentle side

懐かしいね、と ‘i miss you’

寂しかった、と ‘i felt lonely’

ポケットの中でぎゅっと伝えた i let you know, tight in my pocket

目と目が合う　君が笑う our eyes meet, you smile

丘を駆け上がれば　街は遠くへ run up the hill and the town fades away

4. まわれ

Lyrics: Ayako Tsuchiya Music: Yuki Ito

握りしめていたははずの熱は heat i should have tightly held

トウニ、ワタシカラハナレ ‘long ago, left me’

貴女の方へ、漂っていた towards you, it drifted

鈍い瞬き a dull blink

乾いて刻む、針の音 a dry scratch, sound of a needle

ゆっくり母音を　置くように as if slowly placing vowels

大事に胸を　打つように like beating the chest with care

まわれまわれ　世界よまわれ spin, spin, o world, spin!

ワタシと貴方を you and i

置いてゆけ leave it behind

5. Vocalise

Music: Kozue Tsukayama

6. Flower

Music: Yuki Ito

7. 夢中散歩 (Muchu Sampo, wandering in a dream)

Lyrics, Music: Ayako Tsuchiya

星　導かれるように降って falling stars as if being guided

そって　ここにいるよと伝えた gently i told you i’m here

子供の頃の春のままの僕に as i was in the spring of youth

冷たい君の手が触れた touched by your cold hand

Rhythm　鼓動を倍に感じて rhythm, feel the heartbeat double

長い　髪なびかせて　宙を舞い long hair flutters dance in air

ガラスのような君と　二人で together with you, like glass

夢は　続く　続く the dream continues continues

涙で潤む　瞳の奥の deep within tear-filled eyes

その台詞が好きさ i love those words

「可哀想ね」 ‘poor thing’

（飽きることなく） (never gets old)

笑った　記憶もやがて消え去る even memories of laughs will fade

何も出来ない僕を許して？ will you forgive me who could do nothing?

哀しい顔して　切なく魅せれば with a sad look you painfully display

夢は　続く　続く the dream continues continues

「可哀想ね」 ‘poor thing’

8. Dialog

Lyrics: Ayako Tsuchiya Music: Kozue Tsukayama

穏やかにみえる　静かな空に in the calm quiet sky

ふと　寄る　影 unexpected, a shadow approaches

うしろで　みつけた found behind me

輝く　太陽を the shining sun

痛みに似ている　憧れにいつも like pain, a yearning, always

追いかけられ pursuing me

疲れた　わたしは i’m tired

光が　恋しくて i miss the light

まっすぐ　うしろに　進んだ i moved straight back

そーっと softly

また　曇り空が出て again, the cloudly sky appears

気まぐれに　わたしに on a whim, to me

木洩れ陽を　みせるの showing sunlight through the trees

影を追いかけ chasing shadows

なぞる　白！ tracing white!

無理に描いた　穏やかな空に the calm sky, impossible to draw

消えた　太陽 the vanished sun

Audio and Video

• Audio for track #2 “Selene’s Dance”:

• Audio for track #7 “Muchu Sampo”:

• Promotional video with excerpts of songs from this album:

• Live version of track #6 “Flower”:

• Excerpt from track #5: “Vocalise”