Review / 200 Words Or Less
Otoboke Beaver
Love is Short

To put it mildly, Otoboke Beaver's Love is Short doesn't beat around the bush, though that phrase seems wildly inappropriate given the origin of the band's name. Following a churning title track that sets off immediately at breakneck speed and features aggressive foreign-language vocal shouts, shrieks, and howls, even -gasp- a bit of melody, the album transitions to the more playful “Introduce Me to Your Family.” Here, back-and-forth vocal outbursts between the four bandmates play out over a slick bassline, but the more relaxed and sometimes almost sugary sections are book-ended by furious guitar-driven chaos. The EP finishes off with the noise punk romp “Mean,” which rips and grinds through all of 20 seconds. Irresistibly jagged and compellingly "different," Love is Short's only downside is explained by its title: the five-minute run time is almost painfully short. That said, it's gonna be complete insanity when this energetic Japanese group, who may literally be the antithesis to the flashy and polished world of J-pop, gets around to putting together a US-release full-length.