There She Goes: Beni and The Childish Tones!

/ supremenothing

Hey, I know we’re dealing with the impending graduation of Kotao from Avandoned and of course, it’s a monumental upheaval for a very special group, but if there’s one thing I know, Beni is never ever going to slow down for a single minute. She’s gotta be hands-down one of the hardest working people on the scene, and her latest endeavor is one to really be excited over, a 45″ single collaboration with her friends and frequent stage partners, The Childish Tones!

I’ve been looking forward to this since it was announced, but waited to see if maybe we’d get an MV or something to go along with the details, and now here we are! The record consists of Usabeni and The Childish Tones on two tracks, one being a cover of the classic Nick Lowe power-pop number “Cruel to be Kind”, accompanied with a cover of The La’s “There She Goes” for the b-side!

Yesterday an MV was shared for the La’s cover, and it’s a delightful trip to twee-town once again with Beni:

Maybe I’m just a big wuss, but it really shakes up the feels in me. Perhaps it’s because I remember the summer the original was in heavy rotation as a sleeper-surprise radio hit and it played nearly every hour on the hour, and for once I didn’t mind cause it was light-years better than anything else you’d hear on the FM dial. And of course it’s now sweeping back to me being sung by one of my biggest biases, and with the music box charm of the Childish Tones’ music behind it, it’s really a can’t miss for this guy.

“Okay great! And by the way, who are these Childish people?” I’m glad you asked that! 

The Childish Tones are a super-terrific garage-rock band led by Naoki Nemoto. I’ve always assumed that they’re named partially in tribute to the legendary garage-rock superstar Billy Childish, but the name of the band also refers to another unique aspect: The Childish Tones tinker with and modify toy musical instruments and use them to record and perform. And they make a pretty awesome racket! They’ve been friends with Beni for quite a bit now, and she’s joined them onstage several times. Here’s a fantastic live video from a little more than year ago…

I tell ya’ll, Beni is just naturally ready to be a rock star! Actually, I was initially expecting that this might be her plan should Avandoned decide to call it a day, but if you know anything about this young lady, she’s going to just add that to her resume of the billion other things she already does. Idol, designer, producer, artist, creator, etc, etc….

And since you got to hear the La’s cover, here’s a taste of what to expect from the a-side with “Cruel to be Kind” translated into Japanese… (From her birthday party late last year!)

As far as the single goes, it’s fairly limited release, but not impossible to get although it’ll require a proxy as of right now, getting it through the label’s web store. Perhaps after the general release, more outlets will stock it, but I can’t promise that. The release date is February 20, so maybe give it to someone special as a Valentine!

And yes, Kotao’s graduation is also at hand. (January 20 I believe.) It’s a bittersweet event, but I know it’ll be beautiful and I’m looking at it as a next step to new things. Beni has been auditioning new members, and has confirmed that she appears to have one officially chosen. (She mentioned that she is considering expanding the group to at least four members!) It’s an exciting time and I intend to give it all the support I can, and I encourage you to do the same. Remember, “Ending is Beginning!”