Love Tambourines -- Love Is Here ～Just Between You And I ～

 

This would definitely come under one of my own crazier anime tangents, but when I think of the vocalist for the Love Tambourines（ラヴ・タンバリンズ）, Ellie (now known as Eli), I have to say that she reminds me of the free-spirited character of Azusa on the hilarious "Grand Blue"（ぐらんぶる）. Azusa is almost always in a cheerful mood and she seems to have a happy allergy against a lot of clothing, and that is my image of Ellie according to the band's album covers and magazine photos of her.

However, it's not about the physical attributes of Ellie (really) but the vocals and arrangement that Love Tambourines have given us. Case in point: "Love Is Here ～Just Between You And I ～" which is a track on their debut single "Cherish Our Love" from April 1993. Right from Note One, it's all swimmingly sublime Shibuya-kei with those Bacharach/Alpert horns and harmonies that get me remembering the works of 60s girl groups. It's all sunny Sunday sensibilities and maybe a tonic to get listeners to forget the winter out there.

If I'm not mistaken, Love Tambourines came up with a different reggae-based arrangement for "Love Is Here" for their final single in November 1995, "Deeper Love". It's still a very calming influence. Ellie came up with the lyrics while band guitarist Keiichi Saito（斎藤圭市）provided the music. You can also check out the band's "Spend The Day Without You" which I wrote about back in 2018.