In John Waters’ 1994 home satire Serial Mother, a wonderfully coiffed Kathleen Turner murders criminals of etiquette with family objects—a phone, a leg of lamb. One in all her victims has an unlucky encounter with a plummeting AC unit; one other is run via with a fireplace poker. On their new album Tremendous Champon, Japanese rock quartet Otoboke Beaver make comparable munitions of the mundane, weaponizing petty jealousy, maternal conventions, and female duties to blistering impact. Louder, quicker, fiercer than their 2019 LP Itekoma Hits, the 20-minute, 18-track Tremendous Champon goes down like a tart smattering of face-scrunching, neon sweet.
The phrase “champon” is a Japanese noun that implies a hodgepodge or jumble. It is usually apparently a soup—a Nagasaki-born ramen made with hunks of seafood, pork, and veggies. Otoboke Beaver interpret the phrase via their maximalist songs, which change path as abruptly as a thwacked pinball. The band—comprising lead vocalist and guitarist Accorinrin, guitarist Yoyoyoshie, bassist Hirochan, and drummer Kahokiss—have mentioned that “champon” additionally pertains to their “genreless” music. There are elements of velocity metallic, butt rock, riot grrrl, and even pop, however to categorise this document as something aside from punk looks like a attain. Nonetheless, with titles like “You’re No Hero Shut the Fuck Up You Man-Whore” and “Soiled Previous Man Fart Is Ready for My Response,” these ferocious blasts—some below 20 seconds lengthy—are rousing contortions of the fashion.
Tremendous Champon is full of noise: Hirochan sprints up and down her fretboard, Kahokiss punishes her drum package, and Yoyoyoshie discharges countless rounds of screeching riffs. The lyrics, fired off in fast, sharp bursts, are each menacing and hilarious. On the two-part “Do You Need Me to Ship a DM,” Otoboke Beaver flip a well-known motion right into a ticking time bomb. “Would you like me to ship a DM to your girlfriend who is aware of nothing?” the band warns in unison. “Junk mail direct hassle… Screenshot I make it seen.” Their omission of what precisely is in these messages makes the risk all of the extra sinister. May it’s nudes? An lively courting profile? A very incriminating Google search historical past? Otoboke Beaver know that in the case of each punk songwriting and blackmail, much less is usually extra.
The turbocharged couplet of “Go away Me Alone! No, Keep With Me!” and “I Checked Your Cellphone” are comparable spoofs on poisonous affairs. The previous is frantic and cyclical; Accorinrin shouts the title time and again, her repetition mimicking the emotional volleying of a codependent relationship. “I Checked Your Cellphone” presents this conduct in overdrive. Propelled by Kahokiss’ machine gun drumming and Yoyoyoshie’s sawtooth guitar, Accorinrin flails via her compulsions. “I don’t know why!” she shrieks. “I couldn’t assist wanting into/And he discovered a match on a courting app!” It’s directly a condemnation and endorsement of paranoia: Do you have to actually punish your self for peeking in case your instincts had been spot-on? Otoboke Beaver suppose not: Accorinrin would moderately hurl a “full lineup of family items” at her shady boyfriend as an alternative.
