Having made themselves a household name with their drone collaboration with Sunn O)))'s Altar album, as well as their "breakthrough" (ugh) album Pink, the overly prolific trio have set the bar high with this new full length album. They manage to keep the quality high, though they still don't stray far from the template, and are perhaps heading more and more into conventionality.
The band largely strays away from their noisy drone material (such as their collaborative releases with Merzbow) and instead fully embraces the idea of doing singular, stand-alone songs. This isn't really a NEW thing: older works like Akuma no Uta had a few pieces that stood alone as individual tracks but here there is less abstraction and more focus. While somewhat formulaic, the opening half of the disc does call to mind 2006's Pink pretty overtly, with a few subtle tricks. While Pink opened with an extended, furious take on shoegaze, "Flower Sun Rain" starts furiously, with a monolithic sludge guitar tone that grabs the listener’s attention before retreating.
The track largely remains a gentle cover of the PYG track, with the only harsh elements being an overdriven guitar lead. And then, just like the transition on Pink, it goes into full on rock mode with "BUZZ-IN," relishing the lo-fi garage rock sound that they do oh so well. However, it becomes obvious that even in the blistering chaos, there is a greater sense of structure and complexity. There is a great amount of layering and subtlety in the mix that was not as noticeable on the previous albums.
Interestingly, the thicker production and inclusion of some electronic elements give the tracks an overall different sheen: "Laser Beam" feels like a sunnier, non-drug-addled take on Ministry's The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste with its rapid guitar riffs and tightly structured synthetic percussion elements. While this might be somewhat of a stretch, it does definitely set it apart from some of the band’s previous work.
This new found attention to song becomes most overt on "Statement" and "My Neighbor Satan," the latter featuring collaborator Michio Kurihara on guitar. "Statement" is probably the greatest concession to popular music the band has made: although it still features the blown amp overdrive inertia the band is known for, its length and double tracked vocal stylings (and cowbell) make for a much more pop, if somewhat psychedelic in nature, work than most in their catalog. "My Neighbor Satan," on the other hand, shines more in its structural nature: the track shifts pace from more gentle, melodic work to full throttle blast in a way that makes perfect sense.
It wouldn't be a Boris album without a bit of abstraction, and "KA RE HA TE TA SA KI-No Ones Grieve" and the untitled final track fit the bill. Both are longer than the previous tracks in duration (9 and 15 minutes, respectively) and allow for more space exploration than the tighter, conventional tracks preceding. The former is a fast pace number with lots of distortion, occasioning building to impermeable walls of noise, but features some of the softest, most melodic vocals ever on a Boris track. The latter, featuring Stephen O'Malley on guitar as well, alternates and mixes the more restrained elements of the tracks with the distorted, drone guitar work Boris is also known for. In a way, it’s a perfect encapsulation of the band in its use of pop rock elements infused with some drone metal and a hint of pure noise as well.
I feel the need to editorialize a bit, however. My promo copy of this intentionally omitted the track "You Were Holding An Umbrella" in a ploy by Southern Lord to ensure everyone buys a copy. We here at Brainwashed aren't making any sort of salary for contributing reviews, our only compensation is the free music when we spend an inordinate amount of time analyzing and promoting via review. To be told I should still have to purchase a copy after spending my time writing this review is a bit annoying to say the least. Other labels have adopted this tactic as well, sending plain sleeved CD-Rs and links for "virtual promo" mp3s. Seriously guys, we're not just doing this out of the goodness of our hearts, we like to get rewarded once in a while. Rant over.
Although they haven't completely rewritten their playbook, Boris has shown that they are consistently tweaking and adjusting their approach with each release. Smile manages to successfully follow up Pink without letting the listeners down, and even though their edging nearer and nearer to the mainstream with each release, Takeshi, Wata and Atsuo keep it real with dissonant blasts on every album as well. While I still personally like Pink as the better album, I have also had that one around for a few years longer, so perhaps my perspective will change on this one over time.
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