GET YER METAL ON A PITCHFORK: NEW TUNES FROM BORIS AND GIANT SQUID

Long-standing music website Pitchfork, heralded by many as “The MetalSucks of Indie Rock,” has been getting a healthy dose of heavy lately. This must be due to the return of writer Brandon Stosuy, a rad dude and devoted metal scholar we know from the NYC scene who helmed Stereogum’s metal division for quite some time. I’m not exactly sure of the timeline and current relationship between Stosuy and both blogs, but this much is certain: more metal is always a good thing, especially since Brandon covers an end of the metal spectrum we sometimes gloss over. This week’s Pitchfork premieres-du-jour: new tracks from Boris and Giant Squid.

I popped on the new Boris jam (streaming here) expecting giant-sized, fuzzed-out, crushing DOOM — ya know, Boris — and got something completely different. So different that I thought it must’ve been some indie rock band also named Boris. I actually had to check back again after clicking into another browser tab while the music played, at which I read the accompanying article (imagine that) and learned this: “The MBV-smeared “Spoon” comes from Boris’ 15th record, New Album, a 10-song “extreme pop” collection offering glossy dream-pop takes on songs from 2011’s Attention Please and Heavy Rocks, along with newbies.” Well then! That explains a few things. But… is something wrong with me if I actually enjoy this new (albeit temporary) poppified version of Boris more than I do regular Boris? Listen here.

Self-described “science sludge” (awesome!) crew Giant Squid have a new album called Cenotes coming out on October 25th via Translation Loss. “Mating Scars (Isurus Metridium)” is my first taste of that album, and I’m really liking what I’m hearing. The backbone is proggy doom, but the band’s experiments with shifting time signatures, unorthodox arrangements and the inclusion of Grayceon vocalist/cellist Jackie Perez Gratz’ jarring yet beautiful string contributions make Giant Squid into so much more. Listen here.

-VN