Boris

 Sound Track From Film "Mabuta no Ura"

★★★½

I have quite a limited experience when it comes to Boris, and a lot of Japanese experimental rock music. But from what I've heard I can tell that they're really into expanding an atmosphere of sheer intensity, that leads directly into the eye of an apocalypse. Some of it works for me, like on their album Flood, which feels like a mile long glacier shifting over a barren tundra landscape. I listened to that album a lot and it's almost impossible to not listen to the whole thing; one part out of the four just seems so wrong. Here Boris takes some of the elements from Flood but also infuses techniques that I haven't heard from them before. Unlike their stoner metal material this is a lot more relaxed, in the post-rock fashion that Tortoise might have, but turned way up. The vocals are missing except on I think three songs on here, and the whole atmosphere is a little turquoise, like the cover. My downloaded version also happened to be the Brazilian version of the album, so it's a tad different but I've heard that this is better anyways. 

Starting with "Yesterday Morning", you receive the general theme of what this album will be like. It's a bit slow and droney but in a very pleasant and calm way. The feedback and effects really help bolster that effect and it continues onto "A Bao A Qu", with a slow and sweet repetitive guitar that suddenly shifts into this hard and gigantic storm of vocals and distortion. A feeling of true desperation and loss in those few minutes, all perfectly summed up. The next four songs really feel so fluid to me that I barely hear any change in between them, just like the pickings of a Godspeed You! Black Emperor copy. The vocals on "White Warmth" are a nice touch, and make the whole song feel like a fresh morning filled with snowfall. Where the mood changes quite drastically for me is from "Continues" and beyond. 

"Continues" is a pretty basic drone, nothing too significant but it changes up the pace and lubricates you a bit for some more experimentation. "Amber Bazaar", like its name suggests, a completely Middle Eastern scene that is filled with this rushing sensation, and almost chaos. The drums do their job perfectly and it definitely sets itself apart from the surrounding songs. And as it ends with echoing rumbling and drone based chimes, you're lead into "The Picture of a Wind" which combines the whistle of a wind with what seems like a man playing his guitar and singing on a golden hill with very little effort involved. This loose structure is translated into "It Touches", which to my ears is like a direct rip from the Tortoise songbook. And in a true Borish fashion you're given a searing goodbye thanks to a drone that seems to be scrambled and wobbling all over the place. For a full twelve minutes. 

While I think I prefer this type of Boris to their stoner rock recordings, I don't think they have quite mastered this style either. There are some powerful moments on here, and the diversity of the styles on these songs is pretty unique and impressive. Still, I believe that their work on other releases are greater monuments for their metal genres. Boris has a unique sound on those releases, and for the most part it fades away here. I still think the peak of their drone / post-rock music is Flood, but this serves as a light and easy listen. And to clear something up, I thought this was an actual soundtrack due to the title. There is apparently no such movie and I searched for a bit too. The band stated that the songs here were based on a movie "in their heads", and that's something to think about while giving this a listen. 

Favorite Song: A Bao A Qu