Nothing was lost in translation when the Japanese alt-rock outfit The Submerged embodied the 90s Britpop sound in their standout single, Green River, paying a visceral ode to the melodicism of Oasis while dousing the hooky choruses with the crashing carnage of hyper-distorted guitars.
Green River allows you to imagine what it would sound like if Oasis leaned into shoegaze instead of accidentally erasing the legacy of it when they reigned supreme in the 90s. The track unfolds like a cross-continental parallel universe, where Manchester’s guitar heritage collides with Japan’s alt-rock urgency. Above the walls of cultivated noise, the vocals swagger soul straight through the tight-as-a-straitjacket arrangement, cutting through the distortion with the kind of emotional directness that fans of heart-in-throat, emotion-driven alternative rock will immediately latch onto.
As a proud Mancunian, I can wholeheartedly say there’d always be room on Manchester’s stages for The Submerged with their fiercely electric edge and ability to annihilate with evocative alchemy.
The Submerged bring their own modern twist to the alt-rock conversation through an unusual performance space. Much of their live presence unfolds inside VRChat venues, where the band performs for digital crowds and builds community around virtual gigs. Alongside these shows, they organise the Halley’s Comet Night event series and champion the wider VR-based music scene through collaborative compilation releases that highlight other artists working within the platform.
Green River is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Bandcamp and Apple Music.
Review by Amelia Vandergast
