Part of a small burst of Chinese indie rock acts alongside bands like Rebuilding the Rights of Statues, Gemini Trip and My Little Airport, Lonely China Day make their U.S. debut with the intriguing but ultimately somewhat unsatisfying Sorrow. Unlike many of the new breed of Chinese indie rockers, Lonely China Day’s lead singer Deng Pei performs in his native Mandarin; however, the language barrier is no greater with Lonely China Day than it is with Sigur Rós, to make the most musically apt comparison. The band’s blend of droning guitars, glitchy beats and epic synthesizer swells fits perfectly with that band and the rest of the post-Radiohead field of doomy post-rockers, so much so that in fact little other than Pei’s Mandarin lyrics differentiate most of Sorrow. Fans of this brand of ambitious neo-prog will likely find much to enjoy on Sorrow, but anyone who doesn’t think OK Computer is the best album of the last decade may consider it tough sledding no matter what the language. – Stewart Mason
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