B O R I S

Wata from Boris
“Tight, skilled and never a dull moment, Japanese trio Boris are known for combining metal, noise, psychedelic rock, ambient and pop to create their own unique take. Launched in 1996, the band has recorded 17 studio albums. Drummer-vocalist Atsuo, bassist-guitarist-vocalist Takeshi and guitarist-vocalist Wata rely on instinct and raw emotion to guide their creative path. Check out the slinky, cranky solo by Wata on “Statement.” So stoic and yet so badass!”

Speaking objectively, there were better and more elaborate albums that 2011 had to offer.  Bolder, though?  Not really.
 
Thinking about music in 2011, especially in the “indie” sense of the word, terms like “safe,” “sanitary,” “sterile” come to mind.  The threat of a non-accessible, non-commercial and non-saccharine underground being bolstered by do-it-yourself record labels seems more like a memory, the often ear-splitting, alienating and dangerous sounds of the independent music scene notably in absentia. This isn’t to say that performers and bands of this ilk no longer exist, but it’s difficult to associate any extreme with the idea of “indie” music, its sound having slacked and its bands growing formulaic and obtuse. This music is no longer doing its job.
 
To hear Japanese experimental rock trio Boris back away from their usual metallic and distortion-laden exuberance, opting instead to navigate their way through something more closely relatable to pop music, is the type of move that makes you consider what options you have once the supposed bastard stepchild of the music industry turns darling. For Boris, Attention Please is an initially confusing but ballsy interpretation of post-punk or new wave, a glam’d up push towards a more avant-garde idea of pop music and its potential. While a track like ‘Attention Please’ evokes dance music’s repetition and reliance on rhythm, something like ‘Hope’ defies the indie paradigm, its pose and grace the type of college rock perfection that many groups in the genre could only dream of reproducing. The song refuses to abandon its strength for the sake of sensitivity.
 

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Boris’ “New Album” is the #1 most added on CMJ in it’s debut week. Nice. If you haven’t heard it yet you can stream it at SPIN in full - New Album is now available everywhere.

Purchase CD or Vinyl

Boris will be playing 4 select shows in Australia in March 2012. 

BORIS AUSTRALIA 2012
March 20 - Perth @ The Bakery
March 22 - Sydney @ Metro Theater
March 23 - Brisbane @ The Hi-Fi
March 24 - Melbourne @ Corner Hotel

HOPE” -Boris Japan Tour 2011

2011.12.16 (FRI)
Ikeshita Club Upset (Nagoya)
w/ ETERNAL ELYSIUM
OPEN 18:00 / START 19:00
TICKET: ADV 3,000yen+Drink
10/22(SAT)~ ぴあ (P:152-726), ローソンチケット (L:45999), イープラス (プレ:10/15-17)
Info: 052-936-6041 (JAIL HOUSE)


2011.12.17 (SAT)
Unagidani Sunsui (Osaka)
w/ SOLMANIA
OPEN 18:00 / START 19:00
TICKET: ADV 3,000yen+Drink
10/22(SAT)~ ぴあ (P:152-771), ローソンチケット (L:54172), イープラス (プレ:10/11-16)
Info: 06-6535-5569 (SMASH WEST)


2011.12.30 (FRI)
Daikanyama Unit (Tokyo)
w/ 9dw
OPEN 17:00 / START 18:00
TICKET: ADV 3,000yen+Drink
10/22(SAT)~ ぴあ (P:152-781), ローソンチケット (L:75715), イープラス (プレ:10/11-16), 岩盤
Info: 03-3444-6751 (SMASH)


協力: tearbridge records / Daymare Recordings / DIWPHALANX records / Inoxia Records
http://smash-jpn.com http://smash-mobile.com

It’s been a very strange year for Boris, and that’s seriously saying something. 2011 saw the long-running Japanese experimental rock trio put out a total of three full-length albums this year (four, if you count Klatter, their sixth co-release with Merzbow). A quick summary for those just arriving to the game: Heavy Rocks, named after their 2002 album of the same name, was their fastball, a straight-forward collection of, well, heavy rockers that saw them playing entertainingly, but somewhat disconcertingly safe. Attention Please was the curveball, an album that featured guitarist Wata singing on all of its tracks, and the band exploring poppier, quieter new directions. Now, at the tail end of the year, we have the bluntly titled New Album, which features several higher production quality versions of four Attention songs, two HeavyRocks tracks, and exactly three songs it can call its own.

Despite those numbers, it’s the best of the bunch. In Japan, New Album was released through Tearbridge Records, an imprint of major label conglomorate Avex. This label support allowed them to link up with producer Shinobu Narita, who remixed and rearranged songs from the other two albums. An Auto-Tune-esque program called Vocaloid was also utilized. What results is Boris’ shining pop moment. While some would interpret that statement to mean their heft and grit has been removed, a more accurate statement would be to say that these songs have been strapped to an arsenal of high-powered rockets stuffed with fireworks and shot into the stratosphere to explode in glorious slow motion.

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