Hailing from the industrialist hinterland of Wutan, Central China, AV Okubo manage a seamless meld of garage rock and unabashed disco punk on their debut full-length effort. 

Full-length may actually be something of a misnomer given that the entire album clocks in at just over 30 minutes, including a five minute dance remix of closer I Want the Smurfs, and in fact an impulse towards brevity permeates strongly. The stridently infectious Break Wave consists of just a single word (“B-b-b-break”) repeated throughout, though manages to mix things up nicely with some prodigious keyboard breaks and the odd tempo change. Elsewhere Dazibao combines dance party exuberance with some impressively accomplished post-punk guitar in the Josef K mold, and despite its innocuous title Smurfs may actually be the most aggressive track on offer, something akin to what Minor Threat might have sounded like with a drum machine. And a speed freak for a keyboard player. 

Difficult to encapsulate, AV Okuba could certainly never be accused of being one dimensional. There are tinges of disjointed funk in the fretwork, hardly surprising given the band list Gang of Four and Red Hot Chili Peppers as primary influences, and frontman Lu Yan’s sprightly synth hooks effortlessly interplay with the potent chords conjured by guitarist Tan Chao. All products of China’s one-child policy, the quartet like to joke that they make music to stave off loneliness, and despite the straightahead nature of the songs a sense of humour is nonetheless evident. This engenders a welcome sense of levity and comes across in song titles like ShaoLin Kung Fu is Good! and in the album artwork, which sees the band poking fun at the urban sprawl of their hometown and referencing the martial arts and gangster films that are also an obvious influence. 

If there actually were a Punk Rock 101 course, as jokingly postulated by Kurt Cobain, the members of AV Okubo would be well qualified to choose the curriculum. Their punk pedigree is impressive, though they manage to retain enough of their own flair throughout to keep you guessing. Youthful rebellion never sounded so fun.