Tokyo’s mitsume makes music for long car rides, specifically for those long stretches where the only thing you can do is turn thoughts around in your head. It’s deceptively laid-back, the guitar melodies and in-no-hurry beat laying down a relaxing backdrop that makes vocalist Moto Kawabe’s singing and the moments of release all the more forceful. The four-piece group took to the Red Marquee a bit after noon Friday, and it ended up being the perfect time for them to catch folks who just wanted to chill out with something a bit more punchy.

Which isn’t to say mitsume aren’t any slouches when it comes to providing music one could easily relax to. “Akogare” featured an easy-breezy main melody and vocal harmonizing between the members that gave the song a feather-pillow softness, while even the skippy pace of “Sedan” never broke a sweat. Drift far enough towards the back of the Red Marquee and mitsume could provide the perfect post-lunch comedown.

Yet mitsume have come a long way since playing the Rookie A Go-Go stage back in 2013, a performance that was far more on the “pleasant” side than their return in 2018. Kawabe’s singing now features more depth, both lyrically (his words are far more prone to drift off towards melancholy, subverting the vacation-bound playing around them) and stylistically (dude can just do more now, keeping songs fresh). Most startling, though, were the moments of release from mitsume, such as feedback smudge creeping into songs such as “Disco.” It boiled over on the climatic “Esper,” a locked-in number town apart in its final minutes by the whole band cutting lose and letting feedback consume the number. It was these moments of attack that elevated mitsume’s set well above a time to catch your breath.