myspace band of the week

London/Hong Kong based Chinese tweepop duo The Marshmallow Kisses formed in 2001. Living on opposite continents, the “non lover duets of Peter and Edine intertwine bittersweet poetry with nostalgic melodies reminiscing a hybrid of French pop, Swedish pop, Bossa Nova, Semi-Classical and Shibuya-kei.” Their debut single was released in the Japanese music magazine Beikoku Ongaku and they released their debut EP  I wonder why my favorite boy leaves me an EP in 2004. Their first full-length album Ciao!Baby was released January 27 in Hong Kong.

The Marshmallow Kisses gravitate toward tweepop and shibuya-kei (French influenced J-Pop). Lyrics are mostly in English, but they dabble in Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese and Italian. “Alapati,” “Broke”, “Memories Swirling Dance,” and “Mercy Mercy, To My Melancholic Journey,” included on the charity compilation PEACE, are the newest songs on their myspace. “Mercy…” is a catchy pop song while “Alapati” and “Memories Swirling Dance” are very much classic shibuya-kei and appear to be in French and Cantonese. The rest of the songs reflect sweet melodies and nostalgic feelings.

The Marshmallow Kisses are as sweet as their name implies. In the words of Kaji Hideki, “…really pleasant and nostalgic”, and “absolutely charming.” Their new album will only lead to more success. Get their EP at Amazon.com or their website.  Ciao!Baby is available at YesAsia.

http://www.myspace.com/themarshmallowkisses