There is an intimacy running through Do You Like Me Now? that immediately sets Sakai apart. Rather than announcing themselves with oversized hooks or glossy production, the San Francisco five piece lean into emotional honesty, allowing each song to unfold with quiet confidence. It is a debut that feels deeply considered, balancing alternative rock’s raw immediacy with the warmth of soul, the freedom of jazz, and the subtle influence of traditional Japanese music. The result is an EP that feels both timeless and unmistakably contemporary.
At the centre is Marié Sakai, whose songwriting treats vulnerability as a form of strength rather than weakness. Across four tracks, themes of grief, longing and fractured identity emerge naturally, never weighed down by melodrama. Instead, the lyrics invite reflection, asking difficult questions without insisting on easy answers. Her vocal performance mirrors that emotional complexity, shifting between delicate restraint and soaring release with remarkable ease.
The standout is undoubtedly “Orange Tree”, a beautifully realised piece inspired by an eighth century Japanese poem and shaped by Marié’s experience attending a shamisen and koto recital in San Francisco. Built around the Hirajoshi scale and featuring flute, the song quietly bridges centuries of artistic influence while remaining rooted in modern indie songwriting. It becomes less an exercise in musical fusion and more an exploration of memory, impermanence and acceptance.
Elsewhere, “Out” captures the restless tension between wanting to embrace life and instinctively retreating from it, while “Wanted” transforms emotional longing into something tangible through understated instrumentation and Conner Currie’s shimmering guitar harmonics. The title track closes the EP with a thoughtful examination of people pleasing and identity, culminating in a striking piano led finale that perfectly mirrors the emotional exhaustion within the lyrics. Throughout, the contributions of Audie Bethea, Brendon Daugherty, Caroline Carter and Ryan DiCenzo demonstrate a band whose chemistry is already deeply intuitive.
Recorded at Tiny Telephone Recording in Oakland with additional sessions at Women’s Audio Mission in San Francisco, the EP possesses an organic warmth that allows every performance to breathe. Engineered and mixed by Danielle Goldsmith and mastered by Amar Lal, Do You Like Me Now? never mistakes polish for perfection. Instead, Sakai offer something far more compelling. A debut that embraces imperfection, curiosity and emotional truth, announcing the arrival of one of alternative music’s most quietly captivating new bands.
