Tober – Harajuku No Emo Ko / 2004 Dork Records / 6 Tracks /http://www.dorkrock.com / Reviewed 16 October 2004

Shuffling forth with a shrill guitar line and a smooth set of vocals, Adam makes a mathematic style of indie-rock that works as well in a nineties as it does in a current context. Strong bass lines push the first track, “Lunchbox” into having a much more full sound. The strange-arrangements of the follow up track, “The Befits of A Liberal Arts Education” proves hard to get into, even with a very noticeable continuity from the first track in the omnipresent bass line laid down by Pete. The importance to Weezer to Tober can not be over-stressed, each of the tracks on “Harajuku No Emo Ko” has a Pinkerton-like sound, albeit with much more solid musicianship. The solo in a track like “Captain America and his Sidekick Zero” shows this increased level of talent, placing a C.C. Deville-like guitar solo against the pop-alternative of the rest of the band. Finding their stride in another oddly-arranged and timed track, “My Inability to Talk To Girls”, Tober makes a shambling mass full of synth and heavy guitars work as the most unlikely hero, not completely being an euphonic track but breaking out of any easy genreification.

Slowing down the quick pace that they had cultivated through all of “Harajuku No Emo Ko”, “Dear Miss Laura, Love Jimmy” uses a falsetto in the chorus to diametrically oppose the distorted guitar that is so prevalent through most of the track. Finishing off their remarkably long-lasting EP with “Gravity”, Tober continues using the same formula that gives them such a distinct sound throughout the entirety of “Harajuku No Emo Ko”. In a sense, “Gravity” is the high point of the disc, a good ending that drags listeners along for its moving and powerful ride, an intricate yet arousing track.

Tober, even if they “just want to sell out”, make music purely for their enjoyment, and don’t just create music in whatever vein will net them more sales. Providing an incredible dynamic, the variety of sounds that Tober use in their music are deftly consolidated into one cohesive and innovative sound that can’t be taken as done by anyone but the band. While most EPs do not show the complete nature of the band, “Harajuku No Emo Ko” is so jam-packed, so dense that the band is captured in such a short time, instead of stringing their listeners around for 11 or 12 cuts.

Top Track: Gravity

Rating: 6.8/10