Kyoto’s punk-rock-garage quartet Otoboke Beaver have released their song “Love Is Short” today via i-D. The title track appears on their EP Love Is Short, our March 24 on Damnably Records.
Otoboke Beaver will be making their US performance debut at SXSW this year at Maggie Mae’s in Austin on March 16. They will have a headline tour of the UK following in May.
Otoboke Beaver describe themselves as: “Japanese girls 'knock out or pound cake' band”. Formed in the summer of 2009 in Kyoto, Japan, and consists of Accorinrin (lead Vocal & Guitar), Yoyoyoshie (Guitar &Vocals), Hiro-chan (Bass &Vocals), Pop (Drums &Vocals). Live, the band invade the audience and have shared stages with Shonen Knife, Guitar Wolf, BO NINGEN and more. “Love is Short!!” is the second EP and third release (outside Japan) from Otoboke Beaver.
The band’s name is taken from a local ‘Love Hotel’ and the song subject matter is a screw you to bad love, devious boyfriends and general sexism. Their early releases carried artwork with scary visual beaver puns and Otoboke Beaver are part of a new wave of feminist Japanese bands, defining themselves sexually and musically. The pressure of the conformist and patriarchal society is palpable in their music.
Love Is Short sees the band blood-letting a generation’s gender frustration. Introduce me to your family has more vocal playfulness, funky bass and buzzsaw guitar that eventually tumbles into a volcano of noise, with beats tripping over themselves and looks at relationships as a kind of personal war. Ikezu (Mean) at 19 seconds is a stamping flash of anger. There's something about the Kansai triangle (Osaka/Kobe/Kyoto - it's Japan's Midlands, America’s midwest) that's produced some great and very varied music with a great sense of unity, though each city is radically different. Otoboke Beaver have emerged from one of those many provincial scenes, influenced by western Riot Grrrl attitudes and the sounds of punk and angular post-rock, make easy work of the complex arrangements, reminiscent of inventive jazzy queercore punks ‘God Is My Co-Pilot’, or more recently ‘Afrirampo’. The band sing in Japanese, and often in difficult to translate Kyoto slang.2017 will see their US debut at SXSW and their first UK headline tour. Check out "Love Is Short" HERE.
TRACKLISTING:
1. ラブ・イズ・ショート(Love is short)
2. 親族に紹介して(Introduce me to your family)
3. いけず (Mean)
TOUR DATES:
March 13 -19 - SXSW Austin TX
March 16 - Maggie Mae’s Rooftop - 11pm-11:40pm
more tba
Golden Week UK Tour 2017 w/ Say Sue Me (Korea)
May 1 - London -‐ 100 Club
May 2 - Bristol -‐ Exchange
May 3 - Glasgow -‐ CCA
May 4 - Leicester-‐ Musician
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