Otoboke Beaver hold us to account with some Godzilla-sized punk noise this week – twice. We spin these lunatic Japanese punkettes and realise that the world will never be the same again. Quite how we segue from hardcore Jap-punk to a reggae Cover Shot is anyone’s guess. But we do. Organica Orquesta provide what is arguably one of the most covered tracks of all time, and it may surprise you that it isn’t originally a Simon and Garfunkel original.
Tobin ushers in a New Music Double Header with the inimitable Sorcha Richardson with her repetitive musings on love Don’t Talk About It. First up is Honeymoan and Low Blow, with its distinct three flavours of guitar. Richard’s summation of all of this is merely “pleasant”. We have more musical homage from Sweet Baboo with his take on Jonathan Richman. Soft Walls fill in the gaps with the brilliant LP No Time, which is exactly what we have had to listen to this!
Track Listing
- I’m Tired of Your Repeating Story Otoboke Beaver
- El Condor Pasa Organica Orquesta
- Low Blow Honeymoan
- Don’t Talk About It Sorcha Richardson
- Jonathan Richman Sweet Baboo
- Guided Through Soft Walls
- Introduce Me to Your Family Otoboke Beaver
Otoboke Beaver – tell me more
So these four maverick kick-ass bad girls from Kyoto first formed this frenetic band 10 years ago. They met whilst at at University attending a music club. Otoboke Beaver then came into existence gaining its name from a local love hotel in Osaka. It took the band 2 years to lay anything down. This came in the form of a demo CD of three tracks, one of which was later re-recorded and distributed to fans who helped raise the funds to send Otoboke Beaver to the United States. A mini-album soon followed with remarkable cover artwork by artist Yukari Matsuoka.
A year later the band released their first live album, followed a year later by a limited-edition single featuring 3 tracks. That same year (2013) they put out another mini-album Love Me Sign. Shortly after its release bassist Nishikawachi left the band only to be released by a fan who emailed the band asking if she could join the band. Otoboke Beaver began touring internationally in 2016 and in fact racked up over 24,000 miles in one week with two sets at Coachella Festival and a three-date fixture in the UK.
So is Otoboke Beaver a FTBOTRB Recommendation?
Yeah, of course. We love their energy and drive and the way their music just leaves you gasping for breath. It’s an aural assault and one which leaves you wanting more. And we have it. Here’s some super easy to follow links to hear more from these 4 little monsters from Japan.
Get in touch with your recommendations
Here at Record Box HQ we thrive on listener recommendations and if you think you’ve got something you feel as passionately as we do about Otoboke Beaver then do yourself, us and all our listeners a favour and get in touch.
