Singles Spotlight:
Tokyo Tea Room –
“Always In The Sun”

Hello reader,

How are you?

Welcome back, or welcome if this is your first visit to SWT. If this is your first time, look around the site for a while. The site doesn’t bite, nor do Josh or I. And that search bar at the top of each page has so many options that you’ll definitely find something that interests you musically.

Today, I’m excited to discuss another artist making some great music: Tokyo Tea Room. The quintet features Beth Dunn (Vocals), Ben Marshall (bass guitar), Sam Teather (drums), Sam Ewens (brass), and Daniel James Elliott (guitar, synth, keys, vocals, additional percussion) and was formed in Canterbury in the county of Kent, England. They released their debut full-length album No Rush last year. I recommend listening to all of that after you finish today’s Singles Spotlight.

According to the press release for the band’s second album, Feel Forever, which is out Friday, September 18th via the Nice Guys (France) label, “Tokyo Tea Room’s story begins way back in 2012 when songwriter/producer Dan Elliott relocated from Brighton. After recruiting bassist Ben Marshall, the project gradually took shape through friendships made at university, with vocalist Beth Plumb and drummer Sam Teather joining the line-up. Initially bonding over a shared love of Bombay Bicycle Club, the band’s early indie influences soon gave way to a richer blend of dream-pop, psychedelia and soul.

Though university gave way to careers and full-time jobs, and music became something fitted around everyday life, their creative momentum never wavered. This dedication to the project – at this point a hobby where lifelong friends got together to make music for the joy of it – was to pay off in abundance once Tokyo Tea Room’s single ‘Forever Out of Time’ unexpectedly found its way onto several influential playlists. An audience of international fans (1.2 million a month at the time of writing) fell in love with the music.

A life-altering headline US tour was arranged at the tail end of 2025, during which Beth, Dan and their bandmates faced the humans behind the impressive streaming statistics between sold-out stateside shows. Dan recalls being utterly taken aback, meeting hundreds of fans every night after the show at the merch stand, listening to stories of how his band had touched their lives. “It was very eye-opening and intense, in a good way. And it reinforced why we started the band in the first place, all those years ago.” A watershed moment for the entire group, and the validation it provided directly influenced the new record.”

Exploring the upcoming album a bit more, the release notes: “Written throughout 2024 and 2025, and recorded in Margate alongside producer Kristofer Harris, Feel Forever represents a bold sonic and emotional progression. ‘I have a fascination with the impermanent nature of human emotion, moments of feeling that can be powerful and inconsequential at the same time,’ Dan says of his songwriting. ‘Feel Forever is a response to these natural hits of dopamine, a window to all these things that live on in my mind beyond their expiry date. It’s a mix of the good, the bad and the strange, which I think reflects the outside chaos.'”

One last quote from the press release that I think is important and relevant: “Of the recording process, Elliot says, ‘We took a yacht rock approach to the recording, taking our time to smooth all the edges and make something that felt more polished than the last record. Both of us spent hours obsessing over the smallest detail, which felt very apt for this album. The result is something that we are all very proud of; it’s a different kind of Tokyo Tea Room that has come out the other side of it, but it feels right, and I hope people enjoy listening.”

Now that we discussed the band and the new album a bit more, let’s get into one fantastic song off of Feel Forever. From every song that I’ve heard so far, it will be a great album.  One song that captivated my attention during my first listen was “Always In The Sun”.  So much so that it inspired the need for today’s Singles Spotlight introducing Tokyo Tea Room to many of y’all. Those who were in the know, I’m impressed. I’m late to the party. The song kicks off with some funky goodness. The instrumental sets the foundation for the melody. Soon after, Dunn’s first vocals are delivered, and we’re off to the races with this song. It’s a gorgeous groove that will have the most stubborn feeling the vibes, moving along to the beat. Shimmery at times, but always positive and progressing. This song is sure to land on at-home dance party playlists, afternoon road trip playlists, and more. And so it’s well worth being part of our Singles Spotlight series here at SWT, where we are introducing you to Tokyo Tea Room. Hell yeah.

But don’t trust your Singles Spotlight advocate and curator; take a listen for yourself and let me know what you think.

The old-school vibes are abundant within the awesome video for the song “Always In The Sun,” which is a collaboration from Tokyo Tea Room’s YouTube channel and from Nice Guy’s YouTube channel:

(All credits and rights to Tokyo Tea Room and Nice Guys label)

Take a gander at the cover art for the upcoming album, Feel Forever:

The track list for Feel Forever:

1. Eyes Off You
2. Hypnotised
3. All Night
4. Feeling High
5. You’re Mine
6. Always in the Sun
7. Temporary Love
8. Last Time
9. Leave You
10. Slip Away

Like what you heard? See Tokyo Tea Room on tour on these dates:

Alex M Theel

Co-Founder, Reviewer, Content Creator, Business side, Editor at Scummy Water Tower Productions | Web

Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site, scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions and SWT Interviews. And all of our socials.
Questions, feedback, or more? Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com