Maher Shalal Hash Baz is a Japanese group led by musician and composer Tori Kudo. Writing and arranging purposefully naïve pieces that are performed by an ensemble comprised largely of amateurs, Kudo's music thrives on the inspired mistake and fuses stray elements of psychedelia, pop, folk, jazz, and experimental music into works that are full of charm, vision, and fragile beauty despite their many rough edges. Little is known about Kudo's personal life, though it's been speculated that he worked as a visual artist before forming the group, and was a member of a revolutionary ...