Caught in the Crossfire

Japan’s progression and efficiency in most fields never really lets us down. Well apart from those Tetris blokes on Youtube. You at the back! Stop sniggering! It’s NOT funny. ‘Smile‘ marks the impressive14th full length effort from the Tokyo rock trio and shows no signs whatsoever of disappointing.

Boris are by no means a one trick pony. They can turn their hand to anything with successful results as shown on previous release ‘Alter‘ (their collaboration with Sunn O))) drone god, Stephen O’Malley who also guests on the album). The band’s diverse streak continues with this release.

On ‘Smile‘ the band slip effortlessly from epic yet peacefully melodic drone of opening track ‘Flower Sun Rain‘ to the down right, balls out, rock’n'roll as heard on tracks ‘Statement‘ and ‘Laser Beam‘. The, at times, breathtaking axe-work, courtesy of stoic goddess Wata, shines throughout this record.

She is perfectly accompanied by band mates; Atsuo, who pounds the skins like he’s on crack but with all the precision of a brain surgeon. Rhythm guitar, bass and Vocals are taken care of by Takeshi who drives this band with elegance and grace then a in split second can unleash a wall of furious noise. Rad, I know.

Lyrically, I can’t understand a bloody word. They must be singing about Satan or cool robots or something. None the less, this album has more layers than a stay at home, alone, in your pants, Saturday sandwich.

So the final score and verdict: Human Tetris blokes on YouTube who suck, score 0. Boris who totally rock your f’n balls off, score 14.

Tom Lindsey