WITH NEW SINGLE, BORIS BID ADIEU TO METAL
Monday, October 5th, 2009 at 10:30am by Gary SuarezEarlier last month Southern Lord announced a new trio of monthly Boris seven-inch records entitled Japanese Heavy Rock Hits. The first “volume” came out last week, and fans of the band’s droning metalscapes will almost assuredly be disappointed considering its official description:
The first 7″, Volume One, “8″, features two newly recorded tracks. On Side A, the title track “8″ continues the spacey hard-rock sound established on their classic albums Pink and Smile, building from a mono, lo-fi wall of feedback into a ripping, slab of lush vocals, crunchy guitar and thunderous drums. Things get switched up on Side B with “ねえエヴリワン/Hey Everyone”, a chewy bit of power-pop bubblegum that sees the band mining a much lighter source for their sound. It’s a reminder that the most daring thing this band can do is record something so straight-forward it could easily be misconstrued as “alt-pop”. Dont fret its still got a dark core and is unmistakably Boris! Gorgeous tip-on, heavy-weight cardboard jacket designed by Stephen O’Malley.
I, on the other hand, am loving this new single, arguably the most accessible thing the Japanese trio (and erstwhile quarter with guitarist Michio Kurihara). As a fan of the aforementioned albums, I’ve always been more drawn to Boris’ hard rockin’ side moreso than the artsy doom metal side. Some people shrugged off last year’s Smile, derisively dismissing it as “hipster metal.” Those people are totally fucking wrong. However, I can’t fault any of them for not liking Japanese Heavy Rock Hits. The above teaser video is a fairly accurate representation of “8,” which is like “Statement” on a dangerous sugar high fueled by massive amounts of Pocky. “Hey Everyone” is a quite radical departure from the Stooges-esque sound that has made Boris such a crossover success, but it might actually help them reach an even wider audience.
Volume One is now available in vinyl and digital formats. The second installment of Japanese Heavy Rock Hits will come out later this month, with the third one following in November. No word yet on whether or not these will ultimately be compiled into a full album.
-GS
[Gary Suarez was holding an umbrella. He usually manages the consistently off-topic No Yoko No. Say, why don't you follow him on Twitter?]
Wouldn’t it be “sayonara?”
+1
Incidentally, I liked the song too.
Having never listened to this band, every word of the description makes them sound like a piece of crap.
Some instant turn-offs…
chewy
alt-pop
Gorgeous
Japanese
artsy
hipster
dangerous sugar high fueled by massive amounts of Pocky
enjoy your fail, sir.
I never said they were bad, because I’ve never heard their music, but the description did not encourage me to check them out at all
If you’ve ever had any interest in drone, sludge, or any form of experimental, they’re mst definently worth a listen. Feedbacker and amplifier worship are my 2 favourite albums, though they have a pretty diverse catalogue if that’s not your thing
i find this band to be highly over rated.
You scared the shit out of me with that headline. I thought they were breaking up.
BORIS THE SPIDERRRRRR
Boris fans should know by now that this band can and will do anything they want.
yep. and every single moron who suddelny dissed them for pink or smile obviously didn’t listen to their track on the split with torche. epic shit right there.
8 sounds awesome, not sure what i think of hey everyone yet.
Boris is one of my favorite bands, but it’s not really the first time they bid adieu/sayonara to metal.
Absolutego
Vein
Rainbow
Even Maiden had their ‘chewy pop’ moments. At least there’s no granola…
I saw Boris open for Nine Inch Nails last November. It was the worst 45 minutes of my life. I’ve never seen an entire crowd hate a band – there were one or two Boris nuts in the front row – but this was damn close. The only entertaining part of their live set was their drummer, who was fucking insane. The only time the crowd even got into their set was when the drummer would beat the living shit out of the gong behind him.
To be fair, though, I had forgotten all about the crappy opener two songs into NIN’s set. Best show I’ve ever seen.