Meishi Smile - Limerence (2024)

Meishi Smile’s "Limerence" began in 2018.

Originally conceived and written by Faye in Japan, they were influenced by an astrological belief to return to their ancestral homeland.

After deciding to stay in Tokyo for several months following a series of shows, Faye faced addiction and severe depression. This contrast of the bright idealism of city life served as the foundation of "Limerence," invoking a sense of existential dissatisfaction with the external world as formed by the current capitalist system.

Eventually, Faye returned to California and completed the first version of the album as early as 2019. However, the systematic inequalities illuminated by COVID-19 led Faye to immediately scrap "Limerence" and write the industrial metal LP "Ressentiment." This detour led to the current lineup of Jason on bass and Zachary Roy on drums, completing an entirely new version of "Limerence."

The result is a core reinstatement of the fundamental sounds and themes of Meishi Smile: euphoric, yet raw contemplative electronica mixed with undertones of shoegaze, Japanese pop, digitized ‘90s alternative rock, and 2010’s indie, exploring capitalist alienation (‘White Cloud’), the fallibility of memory and the corruption of nostalgia (‘Strawberry Wrist,’ ‘Stay Like This Forever’), and the pacification of the culture industry (‘Love Will Ruin Us’).

The highly stylized and politicized visual components serve as a dialectical response to the past, seeking to confront and move past its own rigid sentimentality. "Limerence" ultimately bursts in excess through the dazy, uncertain haze of the city night, only to emerge in the brief, warm clarity of the morning sun, pressing forward in resilience and revolutionary optimism.