Right out of the damn gate, the worst aspect of Kokutan’s last single is that it’s over before it begins. I promise you’ll find yourself craving 90 more seconds of the 2-piece post-punk/garage band’s follow-up to last year’s refreshing debut “Collision” and their first music video “Buckle Up.” Kokutan is comprised of besties Mateo Prince Henley (formerly of Samurai Shotgun and Prince Golden) and singer/artist Ebony Encrypted. And they come through with this efficient, but spicy DIY throw-down which is exquisitely listenable.
The duo explains that this project, Kokutan, was born out of a mutual love for video editing and content creation. Unlike his projects of the past, Mateo swaps out his lead vocalist persona for a lethal instrumental lead role.
“I love this project because I’ve always been a vocalist,” Henley tells my former colleague Nathan Leigh. “It’s nice to step back and just create the music for once. I’m learning new things every day. We just started creating and these are the songs that have been coming to fruition.”
Right alongside, partner-in-crime, singer/artist Ebony Encrypted delivers a high-spirited, slightly rough vocal performance that both endears and excites me. “Buckle Up” reminds me of those 2 am misadventures of my youth—minus those damn spicy (trauma) memories.