Otoboke Beaver

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Taking their cue from other Japanese acts like Hikasyu and Yapoos, Kyoto’s garage-punk quartet Otoboke Beaver also share the raucous energy and feminist perspective of Bikini Kill and the Slits. Releases such as Okoshiyasu!! Otoboke Beaver — which gathered tracks from their early Japanese-only singles and albums — and the 2022 full-length Super Champon showcase the band’s audacious sound, breakneck speed, and the vivid mix of English and Kyoto slang in their lyrics.
Otoboke Beaver formed in Kyoto in 2009 when lead vocalist/guitarist Accorinrin, guitarist/vocalist Yoyoyoshie, bassist Nishikawachi, and drummer/vocalist Pop met at Kyoto University’s music club. Taking their name from one of the city’s “love hotels,” the band released the three-song demo Anata No Ai De Manshitsu-Chou, which featured the live favorite “Chuchu Song,” in 2011. Later that year, Otoboke Beaver’s first mini-album, Konya Kagiri Nante Zettai Hontoni Wa Senaitsu!, appeared and showcased the band’s increasingly swift playing. A live album followed in 2012, reflecting the band’s growing Japanese fan base after playing gigs with Shonen Knife, Bo Ningen, Wussy, and Say Sue Me.
Early in 2013, Otoboke Beaver returned with the limited-edition single Otobokebeaver Daijikenbo in January and their debut album, Mokugeki Love Me Sign, in March. Later that year, Nishikawachi quit the band and was replaced by Hiro-chan, a longtime fan of the group. Two years later, Otoboke Beaver released the Record Store Day single “Akimahenka.” In 2016, the English label Damnably put out Okoshiyasu!! Otoboke Beaver, a collection of the band’s albums and singles for listeners outside of Japan. That year, they also released the Bakuro Book EP. Otoboke Beaver continued to reach wider audiences in 2017 after performing at SXSW and London’s 100 Club. Following those performances, their Record Store Day Love Is Short 7” EP sold out and remained in the U.K. Singles Chart for four weeks. S’il Vous Plait, a split single with Say Sue Me, appeared that November.
Though all of Otoboke Beaver’s members continued to hold full-time jobs and couldn’t take time off to tour frequently, the band embarked on one of their biggest tours in 2018. After dates in the U.K. and that year’s Coachella Festival, Pop left the group and was replaced by Kahokiss, another member of Kyoto University’s music club. For that year’s Record Store Day, the band offered a remastered vinyl version of Okoshiyasu!! Otoboke Beaver. In 2019, Otoboke Beaver released Itekoma Hits, which collected tracks from Bakuro Book, Love Is Short, and other singles and EPs as well as new songs. In late 2019, the band’s non-album song “Yobantoite Mojo” was released and was used as the theme song for Japanese television show Susumu Inomata and 8 Mojo. They released two new songs in 2020, and played multiple livestream concerts while waiting out the COVID-19 pandemic. In May of 2022, Otoboke Beaver released new album Super Champon and announced they would be doing their first tours of North America in support of the album. ~ Bekki Bemrose & Heather Phares