Otoboke Beaver, a group of feminist punks from Kyoto, Japan, are equal parts aggression and party fun. On their latest EP entitled “Love Is Short,” (their third release outside of Japan since forming in 2009) the group shows off its hyperactive hardcore tunes in just five minutes with the destructive title track and the bouncer-bass of its second cut “Introduce me to your family.”
The band consists of Accorinrin (lead vocals/guitar), Yoyoyoshie (guitar/vocals), Hiro-chan (bass/vocals) and Pop (drums/ vocals). They sing primarily in Japanese, often in Kyoto slang, but that doesn’t mean their rage and riot grrrl influence is lost in translation. Just listen to Accorinrin belt in the song “Love Is Short”—specifically right around the 1:50 mark. It is earsplitting. And it is sheer punk beauty.
In interviews, Otoboke Beaver namedrops mostly Japanese groups from the 1980s (like Yapoos and Hikasyu), but the EP’s power is clearly reminiscent of The Slits, Bikini Kill and beyond.
According to Pitchfork (because I certainly didn’t translate any of the lyrics yet), Accorinrin screams:
“Love / My love is an unearned win / I battle with you / Love is short!” Her lyrics are full of clever wordplay and drip with sarcasm in the Kansai dialect; they pack sly historical references, sear into the false promise of marriage, and skew outdated modes of subtly gendered Japanese language. Asked what the song is about, Accorinrin has said that “love is a monster,” that “love is ephemeral and easily broken.” Or, as she wrote in a press release, “Being in love is like a war for me, but what is love? I expressed this song to say goodbye to unproductive, barren love.” On “Love Is Short,” Otoboke Beaver reclaim all the air that infatuation can suck from a room—which is to say, after fleeting love, this is the sound of more life.
Fans of riot grrrl and other punk or feminist renditions should check these women out.
Here’s the EP in full:
Otoboke Beaver – ‘Love Is Short!!’ EP(Damnably 2017) FULL STREAM
Otoboke Beaver – ‘Love Is Short’ EP Damnably050 Released March 24th (digitally) CD/7″ available on April 22 (RSD in UK/Europe & Japan) Order via Bandcamp https://otobokebeaver.bandcamp.com/ Tracklist 1. Love Is Short 2. Introduce Me To Your Family (02.11) 3.
