The one thing Macaroni Empitsu (Macaroni Pencil) has in common with a lot of the big Japanese rock bands that emerged in the 2010s is that its musical influences lie overwhelmingly in the West. But while many of those contemporaries have tended to tap into the vibe of U.K. and U.S. alternative and hard rock, Macaroni Empitsu’s sound has always been closely aligned with Western power pop. The 2015 EP Eichibi demonstrates that that sound was fully formed even before the band released its first full-length album. Macaroni Empitsu came together in 2012 when its members were students at the respected, long-established Senzoku Gakuen College of Music in Kanagawa. Appropriately enough, the group’s first show was on the school’s campus. Moving fast, it released its first single the following year. Its debut EP, Al Dente, appeared in early 2015, followed by Eichibi at the end of the year. From the start of the record, the band leaves little ambiguity as to its musical direction. Keyboardist Daiki Hasegawa comes racing out of the gate with a Cars-like, very analog-sounding synth line that lets you know the ’80s are close to the members’ hearts even though they’re not old enough to have experienced them firsthand. Drummer Masayoshi Sato’s combination of a hectic pace and carefully controlled style help establish the framework, while the twin-guitar attack of Yoshiaki Tanabe and the mononymous Hattori adds to the mix of urgency and melodic precision. By the time you take in the surging, colorful bass lines that Kenya Takano contributes throughout the record, it quickly becomes clear that the four are not just bashers but well-schooled musicians. There’s a youthful energy and ebullience on the EP that is intoxicating. The pace is pumping much of the time—only two of the seven tracks even slow down to a midtempo groove, and actual ballads are entirely absent. And Hattori’s clear, crisp tenor is as full of fresh-feeling pop appeal as it is melodically spot-on across all the tunes. Macaroni Empitsu still had greater heights to hit, but by the end of 2015, its second EP made it clear that it was a band to watch.