fra-foa - 13 Leaves (19 September 2002)

fra-foa was a four-member rock band that played in the Sendai area in the late 90's until they finally caught the attention of Toy's Factory, and indie record label. The band's grunge/post-rock sound combined with vocalist Chisako Mikami's powerful vocals and brutally personal lyrics (e.g. writing about when her younger brother drowned to death) resulted in a band that wasn't what anyone could call mainstream, but fra-foa easily set themselves apart from their peers.

Unfortunately their career was short, lasting from 1998 to 2005, during which they release two albums: Chuu no Fuchi and 2001, and this one, 13 Leaves one year later. After that Chisako Mikami dissolved the band to pursue a solo career. But that lasted only one year and she created just one solo album before leaving the music industry to focus on her then-new role as a mother.

I've decided to share 13 Leaves because it is more thematically broad and has a greater variety of song structures than Chuu no Fuchi. That said, if you can find the former, it is absolutely worth it. Toy's Factory was far from a major label during fra-foa's time and as a result their albums can be quite difficult to find brand-new for purchase.