“Kaigo Kioku Kyoku is an impossibly intricate garden of sound springing from meditations on life and, in particular, death in all its messiness”. (8/10)
— Exclaim!
“Pockets of nostalgia, love and loss hide along the path of this deeply affecting album.”
Anyone who has intimately cared for someone who is actively dying will know the feeling of prolonged periods of outward silence in a hospital ward or patient’s room while your internal monologue is screaming out in agony, sorrow, and fear. Tanaka miraculously finds a way to manifest that through field recordings, like the one of his grandmother singing the hymn “Jesus, Tender Shepherd, Hear Me” upon which opener “Bare Hallways” is built.
The title of Hiroki Tanaka’s debut album Kaigo Kioku Kyoku translates to Caregiving Memory Songs. The phrase refers to the two years the former YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN guitarist spent as the live-in caregiver for his grandmother with Alzheimer’s and uncle with terminal cancer. More than just celebrating them, though, the album also celebrates his family’s cultural heritage and stands as a sonic archive of his family’s history. Whether still life still or processional, tenderly moved along by Hiroki’s soft tenor, each song on Kaigo Kioku Kyoku carries a sombre, reverent air.
“It’s tender indie rock infused with his own family history, including Japanese folk snippets and voice recordings.”
“However one approaches this one, a listener cannot but help and marvel at how this sounds, from the epic, sample-heavy "Snowdrops", to the yearning wail of closer "Utopia"… the heart of the musician behind this beats loudly, and that only adds to the quiet appeal of this record..”
— A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed
“Inspired by Japanese folk songs, hymns, and his time as a caregiver for his grandmother, Hiroki Tanaka turns the deeply personal into a shared experience with “Bare Hallways.”
“The former Yamantaka//Sonic Titan member steps out on his own to create this raw, softer alternative folk music. The album title translates into Caregiving Memory Songs and it is 8 stunning personal and emotional songs of loss and remembering.” (9/10)
“Before I go into detail, just know that this debut solo LP from Hiroki Tanaka is jaw dropping.”
“Staying true to his words, 'Kaigo Kioku Kyoku' proves to be an emotional rollercoaster that achieves all it sets out to achieve without deviating from its core sound.”
— MEAWW