I have said repeatedly that Boris are one of the greatest bands in the world today. I say that not only because their music is amazing, which it is, but because of their ability to straddle and mix multiple genres into the unique whole that is Boris. Pop, drone, ambient, noise, doom, metal, indie-rock, even a little electronica are the colors that Boris use to create their always provocative compositions. You would have to look to Radiohead to find another band that is able to push boundaries and redefine themselves as successfully from album to album. Boris are also incredibly prolific. Although their output has slowed in the last couple of years, at one time it was nearly impossible to keep up with their release schedule that would often include differing versions of full lengths, numerous splits, live albums, eps and collaborations. It was somewhat surprising that following the release of the band's last proper album, 2008's "Smile," (which, of course, was released in two radically different mixes) they seemed to fall relatively silent (and by silent I mean they released a live album and dvd, rerecorded some of their old tracks for a Japanese only full-length, crafted an excellent series of 7" singles for Southern Lord, and put out a couple of split eps). Apparently the band have been saving up for 2011, because this year will see not one, but three new Boris records, and who knows what else. The first two come courtesy of Sargent House, rather than Southern Lord, who have typically handled the band's US releases. This move away from the stalwart doom/black/crust metal label is indicative of the shift in direction the band explores on both "Attention Please" and "Heavy Rocks." These are easily the band's most accessible releases to date, but accessibility does not mean that they are any less interesting or satisfying than the band's previous work.
"Attention Please" is the most radical of the two recordings. Featuring vocals entirely by guitarist extraordinaire Wata, the record finds the band at their least heavy, most indie-rockish ever. To be fair, the band has hinted at this sort of release throughout the Southern Lord 7" series and on their "Golden Dance Classics" split. Tellingly, some of the music from that split appears here in an altered form. The titular opener is a silky sexy slow burner with a subtle dance vibe that will likely have the band's metal fans scratching their heads. For those whose tastes are as catholic as Boris', the track is an intriguing taste of what is to come. What is to come is a heady mix of alt-heavy rock, electronics and everything else Boris has ever dabbled in, but toned down. Rockers like "Hope" and "Spoon" absolutely soar, but have more in common with 90s indie-rock or, dare I say, Arcade Fire than anything Boris has done to date. Other songs, like "Hand and Hand" "You" and "See You Next Week," recall the ambient soundscapes of the band's "Mabuta No Ura" buoyed by the fragile beauty of Wata's voice. Some of the likely more divisive tracks are also some of the records most enjoyable. "Party Boy" is straight up electro-clash, and it's also downright addictive. "Les Paul Custom '86" is the album's weirdest pop experiment, featuring sparse instrumentation, blown out beats, effects, and a full-on groove, and it is also a hell of a lot of fun. I challenge you not to smile every time Wata goes "E-E." If you don't or can't, I don't think I really want to know you. There are unnecessary rough spots on the album, like the limp "Tokyo Wonder Land," but overall this record works and works well. More than anything I can see "Attention Please," bringing the band a few new fans who would be initially turned off by the crushing sludge of "Amplifier Worship" or the dour doom of "Smile." As for long time fans of the band's heavier material who might be put off by "Attention Please," they need not despair; "Heavy Rocks" ensures that Boris have not gone soft.
Boris revisits the title "Heavy Rocks" from time to time as they redefine their sound. This record is the third incarnation of "Heavy Rocks" moniker; the first being 2002's foray into tight Stooges-like barnburners, and the second being the more experimental Southern Lord 7" series. With this third installment, the band seems to be taking stock of their various metal and hard rock permutations up to now, and creating something a little leaner, a little more accessible, but no less heavy. Opener, "Riot Sugar" is a cavernous stoner-rock number featuring Ian Astbury on backing vocals that sounds similar to some of the band's work on their collaboration with Astbury on "BXI," but better. "Leak - Truth, yesnoyesnoyes" follows and finds the band returning to the psych-rock of their excellent "Rainbow" recording. "GALAXIANS" is the kind of barnburner which populated the first "Heavy Rocks," "Pink" and "Smile," so of course it rocks. "Missing Pieces," my personal favorite track from both albums, has the band returning to the epic ambient-doom post-rock that made "Flood" and "Boris At Last:-Feederbacker-" the classic recordings they are. It even includes a blast of sustained heavy-as-fuck doom drone. Like I said, this is the sound of the band taking stock and pretty much covering every base. No, it isn't as face melting as "Absolutego" or as brutal as "Amplifier Worship," but it will satisfy long-time fans nonetheless, while also offering an easy to digest sampling of the band's heavier side for new comers.
This wouldn't really be a Boris album, though, if it didn't add something fresh to the mix, and fortunately the band offers up new directions in sound on a few tracks here. "Window Shopping" mixes Brit-pop on top of one of their typical go-for-broke ragers, which breaks down into a doom stomp before starting back up again. The real treat is "Tu, La, La," a continuation of the band's exploration of 90's indie-guitar rock. Taken along-side "Attention Please's" similar forays into alt-rock, it sounds like the band has been listening to some serious Sebadoh, and that is a very cool thing, because they rock this sound completely. I could easily take an entire album of this kind of thing. Then there is the tease that is "Czechoslovakia." At only a minute thirty-five, the number inflames with a trash-metal workout that will leave you craving so much more, and is hopefully a glimpse of things to come.
Boris are going on fifteen years now as a band, but with their third album of the year on the way, they show no signs of slowing down, growing old or becoming any less restless as musicians. "Attention Please" finds them at their most adventurous, while "Heavy Rocks" finds them circling the wagons and maintaining their crowns as one of the, if not the, greatest heavy bands of the last decade, while still finding ways to reinvent themselves. Taken together, both albums may be the perfect introduction to Boris given the breadth and depth of the band's various incarnations presented between the two records. For those who are familiar with the group, these albums offer an equal blend of the known and the novel, and while I wouldn't go so far as to call either record the band's best, they are certainly vibrant documents of the group's seemingly undying originality and vitality.
"Hope"
"Les Paul Custom '86"
"Riot Sugar"
"Missing Pieces"
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