Itekoma Hits

Otoboke Beaver

I've been quite enamored with Otoboke Beaver since the release of this album. This somewhat coy, somewhat shy female quartet deliver some of the most furious chaos and mayhem when they play; sporting these bright patterned dresses - the band's signature uniform - while they do so. Itekoma Hits is sort of the band's debut album but also another compilation since it features six new songs, a few re-recorded old tunes, and compiles the band's two most recent EPs. Despite material coming from all over the place in terms of time span, this record is still a seamless presentation of punk, hardcore, and noise.

What I think I like most about this record is that, while being incredibly speedy and chaotic, the engineering and mixing on this record allows for such great separation in the instruments and performances. Together as a band, they have such a wild personality, but it is cool to see how each individual's style influences that overall personality. Bassist Hiro-chan perhaps brings the most swagger to the group, with her impeccable sense for melody and funk grooves. This is best highlighted on the song Introduce me to your family where she plays a series of plucky staccato notes in the mid register before finishing her phrases with a low slide. The little lick she plays over the main vocal - leading into a chant propelled drum breakdown that appears later on the song - is just so cold and is honestly one of the most memorable moments on the record even though it is so brief. Even on the song Don't light my fire, Hiro-chan easily could have just followed the guitar's lead on this blisteringly paced cut, but instead she effortlessly plays this crazy walking bassline over it, adding melody and, again, swagger to this ferocious display of aggression. Not to mention the two solo spots she has on this track that she absolutely kills as well.

The role of guitarist Yoyoyoshie, I find, is to just start a whirlwind and lay waste to absolutely anything and everything in her path. She doesn't have the most melodic style of guitar playing which at times I do miss - although it is unclear whether it is her actual style or just the crunchy tone of her guitar that is responsible - but a lot of the elements that get the heart pumping are as a result of her very noisy performances. As far as her most memorable moments, they do tend to be the more melodic bits for me. The riff on Datsu . Hikage no onna is awesome, I love the angular tag towards the end of Don't light my fire, and I also love how her jangly guitar chords result in one of the most joyous moments on the record, and that's the chorus of Bakuro book.

Then we have vocalist Accorinrin, and before I get into her contributions, I should probably mention that all members of the band provide vocals to this album. They can often be heard shouting and screaming all in unison making this glorious racket. I already mentioned the chanting in Introduce me to your family and that's probably my favourite example, as the lines are recited so quickly and yet they are all just so locked in. But Accorinrin, her performances are so primal, so abrasive. She makes a sound where upon hearing it, you understand why she had to undergo vocal chord surgery a little while ago. It isn't sustainable in the long run, but holy moly does it make for some powerfully gripping performances. Her and Yoyoyoshie's guitar together account for so much of the band's confrontational and aggressive tone.

Lastly, we have Kahokiss on the drums. Her contributions are easy to overlook considering how much noise, yelling, and confident power there is coming from the bass. However, make no mistake, Kahokiss is a machine. Binge eating binge drinking bulimia is all the evidence you need considering she spouts off machine gun blasts on the snare for the track's entire minute. And the way she plays those eighth-note kicks on Don't light my fire without faltering at such a fast pace, I mean c'mon, she is every bit as powerful on her instrument as the rest of her bandmates are at theirs. We often credit drummers for being the backbone of the band, making sure that everyone stays together and in time. Well I sincerely believe that Kahokiss has the toughest job - wrangling in all her bandmates - but a job that she can clearly handle no problem since the train never seems to go off the rails.

I'm not sure there's anything left to say really. Otoboke Beaver is just an incredible force in the punk and hardcore scenes that I think is absolutely necessary. The band displays so much confidence, power, talent, and uncompromising integrity. This all translates into fantastic, blood-pumping music that is undeniably badass and exhilarating. The only thing I'm hoping for next time is maybe a little more sense of melody in the guitars, something that isn't totally out of the realm of possibility given the few shining moments on this record. Regardless, if I get a record that goes as hard as this, then I will count that as a win. The band has been teasing and documenting their progress on new material and I must say that I am so incredibly excited to hear what they have coming up next.