Para - Para and a Flower

Para
Para and a Flower
Music The Shapes
Japan/Slovakia, 1985/2025
LP

A quietly magical record, first released by an obscure Japanese underground band in 1985 in a run of just 100 copies. I guess this is a reggae album in the sense that Masher Hashal Hash Baz plays surf rock. That is, it’s not very convincing as reggae, but the genre signifiers create the groundwork for something different, something tender, homespun, and true.

The instrumentation is quite minimal—warm, rubbery bass; dry, skeletal guitar; soft drums; a throaty voice like Hosono’s kid nephew; and an occasional blaring sax. The pace is unhurried and the mixing is relaxed. Yet for all its modesty, this record casts a unique spell. There’s a mellow warmth that emanates from it, growing by the end into a tiny sun.

The undeniable highlight is the penultimate track, “Para Music,” a lilting, elevated hymn that my colleague at Deep Thoughts compared to Dylan’s “Wigwam.” Totally. Drift off to the dreamy, weightless coda, then play it back, and it becomes clear that glow has been there all along, that subtle lift. Love this.

Collectors Note: Some copies show a few signs of their journey, mostly light corner bumps.