SHREDnews

By: Jay Rowland

Have you heard of Otenki? Sounds like Naruto’s friend right? Wrong. Otenki is a power pop band out of Houston, TX that formed in 2004 and has been making a name for themselves ever since. The band currently consists of Enoma Asowata (guitar/vocals), German Hernandez (vocals), Fausto Padilla (lead guitar/vocals/programming), and Josh Tenorio (bass/vocals). Just a short six months after forming, the band recorded their first EP. Then, soon after they won the Taste of Chaos Tour Battle of The Bands Contest and played along side of My Chemical Romance and The Used for the inaugural year of the Taste of Chaos Tour. Then went on from there to play the Ernie Ball Stage at the 2005 Vans Warped Tour and once again won the Battle of The Bands for the 2006 Taste of Chaos Tour. In 2007 they successfully went on a self promoted US summer tour. Did they stop there though? No. This year they once again were included in the Taste of Chaos Tour and also joined Vans Warped Tour on the Kevin Says Stage.  Now with over one hundred shows under their belt and an ever growing fan base this Texas band has brought us their new EP, Making Sense Of Static. The New EP was produced by Paul Leavitt (All Time Low, Circa Survive, Senses Fail).

The EP opens up with the hard hitting song, The Tie That Binds. This song is a powerful opening tune and really sets the pace for the EP. The vocals are very crisp and easily understood and at the same time do not overpower the music. This is the kind of song that makes you want to hit repeat for a while. It really has a great beat that hooks you right away. I would love to hear this one on the radio. Empty Words follows and brings the tempo down a little while keeping the same strong sound that was so enjoyable in The Tie That Binds. The intro is my favorite part of this song. The music transitions nicely into the vocal portions of the song. The song has a strong beat that carries you through the song.

The title track, Making Sense Of Static transitions perfectly from The Tie That Binds. At first I thought that there were the same song the transition was so smooth. This song really highlights how nice these guys’ voices are. By the time you hear this song you will realize as I have that these guys start strong and keep going strong through out the entire EP. Parts of this song slow the tempo down just enough to put a smile on your face and make you sing along. The song tapers off and Phoenix leaps out of the flames as the next song on the EP. The vocals are simply amazing in this song as the weave in and out of the music. I would love to hear this song live. It is defiantly the top song on this album.

The guitar intro on Friends Come First really steps up the tempo as the EP prepares for the finale. The song is more reminiscent of melodic punk such as The Swellers and really drives home just how great Oteki really is. It’s a short song that leaves you longing for more.  The impossible is a great song that speaks to us about how nothing is really impossible and that the world is just waiting for us. It’s a nice uplifting song and although a little slower tempo then I wanted to hear after having heard Friends Come First it is still a great song. The vocals really are the driving force of this song as the music helps to compliment the wonderful voices these guys have. Even though it does drop the tempo quite a bit from the previous song after really listening to it I find it a nice song to finish off the EP with.

This EP really is a great introduction to the band, Oteki. Every song is musically and vocally strong through out.  I don’t claim to have a degree in music. I’m just a fan of music like most of you reading this article. This fan is very pleased to have been introduced to this band and their new EP, Making Sense Of Static.

http://www.myspace.com/otenki

For fans of: The Swellers, Jimmy Eat World, Stereo Summer

Top tracks: The Tie That Binds, Friends Come First

Rating: 8/10

Track list:

1. The Tie That Binds
2. Empty Words
3. Making Sense Of Static
4. Phoenix
5. Friends Come First
6. The Impossible