I first heard of Otoboke Beaver a few years ago at work. One morning a colleague turned up to work in a Melt Banana shirt and I got very excited because I love that band. I love talking about music so I approached him and started talking about Melt Banana and music and other stuff (we hadn't really spoke much before but it seemed we had quite a few things in common such as a love of Studio Ghibli). He said that if I liked them I should check out Otoboke Beaver. I ended up going to see them live and absolutely loved them.
Drinking Boys And Girls Choir, an indie punk band from Korea, open up tonight. They start off with '77 style melodic punk in the vein of The Buzzcocks or The Briefs with some really cool bass runs. When the band play at breakneck speed (which they frequently do), it all gets a bit chaotic and falls apart. The band is at its best when they show their more melodic side with indie punk pop reminiscent of Kenickie or Helen Love. 'Keep Drinking' has a gritty pop punk feel a la Leatherface. Not bad.
Otoboke Beaver are one short blast of raging noise after another. Melt Banana's hyper noise pop is an obvious reference point but mixed with The 5.6.7.8's aesthetics. There are hints of garage rock and surf rock too. 'Dirty Old Fart Is Waiting For My Reaction' starts off as Melvins style sludgy noise before accelerating into more familiar Melt Banana territory. It does get a bit samey and repetitive after a while though. There doesn't seem to be enough variety to sustain an hour long set. I also found some of the crowd to be a bit disrepectful. It seems like lots of people fancy themselves as comedians these days and can't resist yelling things which they think are hilarious. Singer Accorinrin seemed to be getting a bit pissed off with this too, especially as she struggled to understand some of the heckles. Unfortunately, nowhere as good as last time around.
Otoboke Beaver ***
Drinking Boys And Girls Choir ***
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