The music on plane’s new album localizer is good but the most impressive thing about the album is its super-cool cover art.

localizer is the second full-length studio album from Japanese indie rock band plane. plane (プレーン) consists of Kikuchi Yusuke (菊地佑介, vocals & guitar), Hisamitsu Masaaki (久光正昭, guitar), Kida Yoshifumi (木田佳文, bass), and Kamimoto Keisuke (神本圭祐, drums).

Originally from Osaka, plane formed when the members were in school. They consider themselves heavily influenced by pop-rock greats Mr. Children.

On first listen, plane’s sound isn’t to distict. But once a few tracks in to localizer, their uniqueness becomes more evident.

The CD is a cool and rather mellow listen. It has a sound much like other indie bands but more polished. Tracks like “花火” (Hanabi, Fireworks) and “dead stock” are slow and pondering while others including “arrow” and “Birthday” are more upbeat and energetic. Much of plane’s work is stylishly simple yet refined.

plane has taken threads of popular and indie rock and spun it into a nice, high-quality musical sweater (excuse the analogy). Additionally, it is something that can be enjoyed on diiferent levels. Whether that’s simply good-sounding music or something artistic, it’s left up to the listener.

Fans of Japanese indie rock or listeners looking for something fresh should check out localizer by plane.

The PV for “arrow” by plane: