Hentai Babies - Stay Kawaii

It's been a wee while since we last checked in on our favourite Isle of Wight based alt-rockers, Hentai Babies. It's fair to say though that in the year or so since we last spilled our virtual ink over them, they've been keeping themselves quite busy indeed. First of all, they have now expanded into a three piece again with the addition of Jack on the drums.

Secondly, having steadily built up a small cache of tunes over the last few years, the band finally compiled the best of them into their debut album, "YO!", which was released in April. We didn't review it when it came out as we would have liked to have done, but we'd like to say that although it doesn't vary its formula that often over its 12-tracks, it still remains a highly enjoyable album of straight to the point, lo-fi pop-rock numbers, and one we very much expect to be in our top albums come year end. Our picks from the album would be "One Potato Two" (which is one of the songs we use when we're trying out new headphones, fact fans) and "Bubblegum". At the moment, "YO!" only seems to be available to buy from their Bandcamp page on a pay-what-you-like basis, but we're hoping that it gets a physical release at some point in the future.

But perhaps the most interesting piece of news to come from the band is that they are going to be touring Japan in November. They've picked up a bit of radio play over there, and as a result they're going to be playing three dates in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Given that their band name is Japanese, and given that their Facebook feed seems to be filled with anime pictures (and their profile artwork is similarly inspired), it's fair to say that they're going to have an absolute ball there.

Ahead of those dates, the band are released a new E.P of songs which we recorded over the summer. They have released the title track from the release, and fittingly enough, it takes its title from the Japanese word for 'cute'. "Stay Kawaii" sees the band continue its Weezer-esque mix of pop melodies and heavy guitars in a delicious fashion. It's fair to say that Japan's going to love it.

Hentai Babies' new E.P will be released at the end of the month.

Hentai Babies - Day One Daydream/Pop Is My Prozac

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since this blog wrote about Isle of Wight based duo Hentai Babies, they of 27th best song of 2013, "One Potato Two", fame. Not that they've been quiet, mind, having released a slew of singles in the intervening 12 months and playing at Blissfields earlier this month. What prompted them to our attention again however is the band's latest artwork, which you can see above. Depicting the band in drawn in a chibi manga style (or super-deformed as it's sometimes referred to), it is several different types of wonderful. If they ever got it printed on a t-shirt, one would be very tempted to make a purchase.

They've been busy writing and recording a lot of new material recently, and to accompany their wonderful artwork, here's two of their best new songs. "Day One Daydream" is a punky little number that drives straight to the point, whilst "Pop Is My Prozac" is a poppier 90s alt-rock inspired tune, dominated by a discordant yet rather great guitar riff.

They surely must have enough material gathered by now to get an album on the go, and based on the singles they've released to date, it is bound to be a solid release. I'm guessing that they've already got their album cover sorted...

"Day One Daydream" and "Pop Is My Prozac" are available to download for free.

Champs - Savannah

Is there an influx of duos from the Isle of Wight making incredible music at the moment? In reality, no, there is not. But as the old maxim goes, "one is an accident, two is a trend". So after introducing Isle of Wight duo Hentai Babies a few months ago (they weren't a duo then, but are now), it's time to cast our eye on fellow islanders Champs, our justification for calling it a trend.

Champs are made up of brothers Michael & David Champion, and they make music as enjoyable as it is lovely. Their new single is "Savannah", a great little alt-folk built around an infectious piano riff and well constructed multi-tracked vocals which thankfully stay respectfully tasteful, without running into gimmicky territory as is sometimes prone to happening on tracks of this nature.

"Savannah" is taken from their debut album "Down Like Gold", which will be released on February 24th.

Hentai Babies - Nice Little Story

Since catching our ears last month with the irresistible "One Potato Two", Isle of Wight based trio Hentai Babies have shot straight to the top of The Metaphorical Boat's list of British alt-rock bands with a name derived from anime terminology. Admittedly, the list only contains one band at the moment (the aforementioned Hentai Babies), but it's a rather great list to be on nonetheless.

This month, the group have released their latest song, "Nice Little Story", a song that has proven to be just as delightful as their previous offering. Once again, the band's love of 90s alternative rock shines through on this release, although on this release it gravitates more towards British groups like Manic Street Preachers than the American influences on "OPO". It's a heavily guitar-orientated track, yet one which has a pop heart hidden below its scuzzy sheen.

"Nice Little Story" is available to download for free.

Hentai Babies - One Potato Two

A quick Japanese lesson before we get to the music - the word hentai is usually translated into English as 'perversion', although in the English speaking world, it is used as a catch-all term for any anime or manga which features overtly sexual themes. There is a belief among certain people that all hentai involves a copious amount of tentacles committing gratuitously lewd acts, although this is very much a misconception, possibly arising from the release of Legend of the Overfiend, one of the first hentai anime series to be released in the Western market.

All this preamble serves as an introduction to Hentai Babies, a rock trio from the Isle of Wight. Their assorted internet presence shows a band who seem more than familiar with anime. However, unlike their namesakes, there's nothing perverse about these guys, except for their perversely fantastic song "One Potato Two" (does that work as an adjective in this regard? - The Captain).

"One Potato Two" is a song built around a mechanical guitar riff, one which echoes the sound of 90s American alternative rock groups like Rocket From The Crypt and Stroke 9. It's a very strong single from the group, one which should pique the interest of those who prefer their rock music to be fun, energetic, and as un-stony faced as possible.

"One Potato Two" is available as a free download. A music video for the song is also available, which contains clips from the anime series Nichijou, One Piece & Humanity Has Declined (none of which are hentai, thankfully).