Hump Back’s “Kujira” (“Whale”) begins with a chord progression based on Gsus4 that is both sublime and gorgeous. The top notes of the chords in the progression, chiming out from singer/songwriter Momoko Hayashi’s guitar, have a dissonant harmonic effect that is quite nifty in the context of a power pop song. The song, originally released on the EP 涙のゆくえ (Namida no Yukue or Where Tears Go) and also included on the album 人間なのさ (Ningen’na no sa or Being Human), has more adroit instrumental touches in store. There are deftly placed fret hand muted “chunk-a-chunks.” Momoko plays a dissonant but clever three note accent during the second verse. Guitars drop suddenly out and then back in. There is a brief two-part guitar solo. The first section fits neatly with the chord progression, while the second part sits uncomfortably outside of it. Piko’s bass and Misaki’s drums zip along behind the catchy melodies of verse and chorus. Momoko nicely dials back the trademark teenage angst nasality of her voice. Charming.