Live Review: Bo Ningen, MAKING

The half-curtained-off venue may have suggested that the room would be lacking in ambience – or bodies for that matter – but you’d be sorely mistaken.

Though local band MAKING began their set to few people, they soon coerced those in attendance to move closer to the stage with their aggressive, annihilating barrage of sheer noise. There’s an unexpected melodious undercurrent to their reverb-heavy style, with rhythmic bass riffs playing strong background to frantic vocals and ear-shattering percussion. While their recordings are fantastic, MAKING are a band worth seeing in the flesh.

Japanese acid punk foursome Bo Ningen are a sight to behold, all clad in black, long hair streaming over guitar strings. But they’re so much more than aesthetic appeal. The moment the first words tumbled from frontman Taigen Kawabe’s mouth, we were entranced. An irresistible meld of falsetto yelping and frantic guitars, every song felt like a thrilling announcement, with Kawabe’s shrill countdowns and call-outs ringing out with delicious reverb. Leaping from repetitive jams to all-out aural assaults in a breath, strobe lights left flashing imprints on retinas and mouths gaping. It was impossible to not be swept up in the largesse of the sonic experience, and the inexplicably pleasing feel that comes with Kawabe’s vocal modulations on Japanese lyrics.

The band’s enthusiasm was palpable, rushed arigatos dispensed between long jam sessions, and the feeling was very mutual. Those in attendance were all devotees to the soundscapes, helpless to the bombardment of echoing guitar and heaving drums, little left to do but nod along and witness Kawabe’s wildly gesticulating hands as they powered through songs like DaDaDa and Slider. Somehow Bo Ningen tread the old territory of kraut-acid-psych music and turn it exquisitely new.