The Beat Motors

This past Friday evening, I was invited to see Sony Smaller Recordings artist, The Beat Motors. They were playing a sold-out show at Shimokitazawa Shelter.

The Beat Motors are an up-and-coming band on the indy circuit in Japan. A while back, I remember asking Akko from GO!GO!7188 which new bands she had her eye on, and the Beat Motors was the first group she mentioned.

The Beat Motors' music is pretty easy to describe. They are a riff oriented hard rock band, going for a 70's underground vibe. Their music is awash with heavily distorted guitar riffs, guitar solos, and a touch of bluesy harmonica. No glitz, no glam, just a bunch of skinny guys in tight jeans rocking out like back in the day. I wouldn't say that the Beat Motors is the most original band on the scene in Japan, but their live show was definitely a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to checking out their latest album release, 素晴らしいね, (Subarashi ne, Wonderful, right).


A few photos from Friday night's show... The place was so packed that it was hard to get a good angle.

Here is the promotional video for their recent single, Jet Sensei.

Definitely take a look at their website. There are links to more music videos as well as their myspace page where you can here some tracks.