Ogikubo Station is the duo of Mike Park (who founded Asian Man Records and played/plays in Skankin' Pickle, The Chinkees, The Bruce Lee Band, and more) and Maura Weaver of the on-hiatus band Mixtapes. They released a self-titled EP last year and now they're set to put out their first full-length, We Can Pretend Like, on August 24 via Asian Man (pre-order). In the band's own words, the album consists of "11 songs going back and forth with acoustic and full band arrangements. Songs that dive into the heart of love, loss, alcoholism, racism, and everyday life."

We're premiering "Take a Piece of All That's Good," along with its video, and this song makes the album seem very promising. It's not really much like the music Mike and Maura are best known for (Mike is best known for playing in ska bands and Mixtapes are more pop punk than this), but it does fit very well alongside a handful of bands with recent Asian Man releases like Lemuria, Cayetana, Hard Girls, Joyce Manor, etc. It's got a similar raw, humble indie-punk vibe to those bands, and as Mike and Maura said to themselves when they formed the band, "[their] voices sound really good together." They've got sugar-sweet harmonies that recall classic indie pop, but the music is a bit harder-edged than that; it kinda reminds me of certain Clarity-era Jimmy Eat World songs. Check it out below.

Ogikubo Station are also opening for Alkaline Trio (whose first two albums and first two EPs were on Asian Man) during part of their upcoming tour with together PANGEA. That includes the shows at NJ's Starland Ballroom (8/16) and NYC's Brooklyn Steel (8/17) (tickets). All dates are listed below.

Alkaline Trio / together PANGEA / Ogikubo Station -- 2018 Tour Dates

Aug 03 Dallas, TX – The Bomb Factory

Aug 04 Austin, TX – Emo’s Austin

Aug 06 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant

Aug 08 Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre

Aug 09 Cleveland, OH – Agora Ballroom

Aug 10 Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall

Aug 11 Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom

Aug 13 Millvale, PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre

Aug 14 Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live!

Aug 16 Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom

Aug 17 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel

Aug 18 Boston, MA – House of Blues

Aug 19 Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory

Aug 21 Norfolk, VA – The NorVA

Aug 22 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle

Aug 24 Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works

Aug 25 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade – Heaven

Aug 26 Orlando, FL – House of Blues