With a discography that spans 87 releases across 25 years, Japan’s Boris are currently one of the most prolific hard working bands within noise rock, reaching an international audience and standing alongside underground heavyweights such as Sunn O))) and Earth. As they celebrate their milestone anniversary, the trio are set to release 27th studio album ‘Dear’ on Sargent House, straining the already bursting seams of their enormous back catalogue further still.
‘Dear’ seems like a celebration of all the sounds that Boris have traversed throughout their career, with tracks such as ‘D.O.W.N’ feeling like a tectonic plate shift due to the sheer weight and intensity of the sounds at play, while ‘The Power’ takes sparse ambient atmospheres and deploys them at an agonisingly glacial pace. Boris may constantly shift and evolve their sound but there is no denying that everything they do is with maximum impact and played at near deafening volumes.
‘Absolutego’ is the truest in nature to a “rock song” on this release, with actual riffs and displays of guitar prowess, this will seem absurdly heavy when juxtaposed with the dreampop sensibilities of ‘Memento Mori’. ‘Dear’ is a quintessential Boris release and would be the perfect album for those just discovering the band for the first time. 87 releases can be quite intimidating if you aren’t sure of where to start, so to have a record that perfectly encompasses every sound and genre they have mastered so far is the perfect introduction. Here’s to another 25 years of Boris!
(8/10 Angela Davey)
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