Like Uncolored Velvet -- Ashita ni Todoke（明日にとどけ）

 

I had never heard of this band with the unique name of Like Uncolored Velvet (LUV for short). This was a trio consisting of ladies from other groups with the only one that I know being bassist Miki Ishida（石田美紀）from Pink Sapphire, a band that had its time in the late 80s and early 90s. The other members are vocalist Ai Miyake（三宅亜依）originally from the pop group Kurobuta All-Stars（黒BUTAオールスターズ）and guitarist Yumi Sano（佐野由美）from rock band Ladia.

According to their J-Wiki profile, LUV was active at least between 1998 and 2000 with five singles and one album under their belt. Their fourth single which came out in August 1999 was "Ashita ni Todoke" (Send It To Tomorrow). Written and composed by the band, it's about a woman who's going through the tough time of recovering from a breakup but is using her pain to propel herself forward into a better future.

Considering that all three members were active in their bands in the early part of the 1990s, "Ashita ni Todoke" has that feeling of the pop/rock sound from that part of the decade, and I would have easily mistaken the song for an old Pink Sapphire tune that I'd yet to hear. It was released at the end of the century so it would make quite a contrast with was becoming hot at the time in mainstream J-Pop: R&B and the Hello! Project aidoru such as Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）among other musical acts. The other interesting thing for "Ashita ni Todoke" in particular is that the rollicking intro suddenly reminded me of The Bangles, and Miyake's vocals had me thinking of Every Little Thing's Kaori Mochida（持田香織）and also pop superstar Ayumi Hamasaki（浜崎あゆみ）, both of whom were also very much in the spotlight at the time.

Not sure whatever became of them post-2000 although LUV did have a website which has become defunct.