Fusing the noise and unrest of the gritty ports and warehouses of the Lower Bottoms with an edgy neo-psychedelia come post punk sound, Oakland, California's Tokyo Raid is the spiritual locale where the streets of Salford and The East Bay intersect.

Formed in 2004, singer/bassist Ben Utah has mined influences ranging from T-Rex, David Bowie and The Stooges to The Jesus and Mary Chain, Joy Division, New Order and Spaceman 3 to create the band's sound which not only walks that difficult tightrope between being unique yet recognizable, it juggles and does the Watusi along the way.

While the lineup over the years has featured individuals of note such as guitarist Dean Taylor (Brian Jonestown Massacre), Dave Han (Astral/Foreign Cinema) and collaborators Cary LaScalla (Bellavista) and Kat Downs (Sit Kitty Sit), it's the latest lineup featuring guitar stylist Ty Gerhardt (The Girlfriend Experience/The New Day Breakers/Songs for Snakes) and drummer Mike Thompson (Sit Kitty Sit/Big Nasty) that's getting the buzz all along the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington for being one of the Bay Area's best "new" underground acts.

That buzz is further supported by the band's 5th EP, The Fear of Sleeping on their Dancing Leper label which features the band's production talents married with the engineering and mixing skills of Tiny Telephone's Ian Pellicci (Deerhoof, 31 Knotts) and Cloud City Sound, Portland's Justin Phelps (The Mars Volta, Dresden Dolls, The Mother Hips, Chris Isaak, Cake).