Back in November, Tokyo Tea Room released the stunning new single “If You Love Her.” Based in the Kent, UK countryside, the psych pop quartet, fronted by primary songwriter, producer, and guitarist Daniel Elliot, describes their specific sound as a “meeting of melodic bass lines, hypnotic guitar riffs and dreamy synths,” with lyrics centering on heartache and yearning. The new track follows their previous singles “Eat You Alive” and “It’s Me & You,” which expanded their signature multi-layered sound, flawlessly weaving together lush synth and dreamy vocals, courtesy of singer and keyboardist Beth Plumb. “Eat You Alive” and “If You Love Her” are the first two tracks from the group’s sophomore EP No Future Plans, out later this December, inspired by “the summer nights and serene atmosphere of a seaside town.”
“If You Love Her” speaks to shameless vulnerability, the desire to fully be yourself with another; “There’s nothing I’d rather do / Than be yours tonight,” Plumb admits before melting into the bright, guitar-led chorus. There’s a hypnagogic quality to this, something mesmerizing; “I need what you’ve got to love / So I can sleep,” Plumb continues. However, these pre-chorus sentiments, earnest and desperate, are always answered with the possibility that whoever she’s singing to doesn’t have eyes for her. In that sense, she wishes them well, telling them “if you love her/ melt like butter;” in other words, love fully and lose yourself in the process.
No Future Plans is out 12/23 via Nice Guys Records.
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