Some hardcore Japanese music fans will tell you that rock was invented in the West but perfected in the East. While it may be a good distance from the truth, it’s undeniable that Japan has produced a slew of bands that have redefined the rock genre. Groups such as Number Girl, The Boredoms or X-Japan have forged a unique sound that is both in lineage with UK and American rock tastes, and yet inherently Japanese – and outfits like Plastic Tree have followed suit.

Indeed, Plastic Tree – formed in 1993 in Chiba Prefecture – have developed their own balance between the visual kei movement and Western rock. Sure, they’re all glammed-up and shiny like their prettier-looking 70s brethren, but at the same time their music tends towards a 90s Brit-rock sensibility.

They like a bit of Radiohead (rather predictably, given their moniker) as well as The Cure, and mix it in with the recognisable voice of prettyboy singer Ryūtarō Arimura. In recent years they’ve added some pop tendencies to their output; but the latest of their 20 albums, Ammonite, released in April, shows a wide-ranging display that mixes a bit of everything from noise to electro-rock – which to some Japanese rock fans is possibly the closest thing to perfection.

Edwin Lo

Plastic Tree plays Youth Square on Friday November 25
Tickets: ticket@thewall.com.tw