Boris

Boris: PinkPink (2005)
DIW-Phalanx

Reviewer Rating: 4

User Rating:

Contributed by: RyanMRyanM
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on January 27th 2006It seems Boris has really been getting slurped lately, perhaps somewhat to my surprise as to from whom, but nonetheless, it's nice to see the continual emergence of the band from their isolated beginnings. For better or worse (and usually for the better), Boris seems unavoidably tied to Japanese noi.

It seems Boris has really been getting slurped lately, perhaps somewhat to my surprise as to from whom, but nonetheless, it's nice to see the continual emergence of the band from their isolated beginnings. For better or worse (and usually for the better), Boris seems unavoidably tied to Japanese noise music (at least for me), which is unsurprising considering how many collaborations they have done with various noise artists, including Merzbow and Masonna. For those who haven't heard Boris, though, their own material is unlike either of these artists, as Boris tends to bring the structural form into these musical collaborations. As for their sound, it always struck me as the type of music these very same avant-garde musicians would throw on when they wanted to both rock out while also being inundated with some sludgy metal. In either case, Pink represents the most all-around and complete album Boris has made, incorporating numerous elements into a piece that often bounces back and forth between slow, droning pieces and balls out, noise-infused rock. For this reason, it often comes off as their most accessible record, but even so, the interactions and movements add further depth to it and require closer listens to delve deeper into the music.

There are two outlooks offered on Pink, both of which blend surprisingly well, mostly due to the chaotic elements infused in the more aggressive portions which blend well with the more atmospheric pieces providing a temporary reprieve. The opener (which has a Japanese title) is well over seven minutes, and features an atmospheric intro leading into droning guitars and flat, distant singing. Immediately following this is "Pink," which gallops along aggressive guitar lines that squeal in the background behind the singing, which is once again obscured. This song sets up the next two, the first of which is incredibly infectious thanks to a great bass line. The song builds appropriately into a screeching guitar and howling vocals, which sets up the further addition of noise elements into the next song, which is drenched in distortion. This song features more distorted and aggressive vocals, which fit the added noise. Following up on these three aggressive songs is yet another drone piece, which trudges along slowly for around 5 minutes, slowly building in the yell vocals. Songs such as "Electric" will undoubtedly grab attention and garner the accessible title for the album. It's short and instrumental, being catchy without overly aggressive. The rest of the album shows a good mixture of the two styles, including an impressive 10-minute closer that combines both.

Pink offers a lot of contrasting elements, none of which should be surprising for fans of Boris, but here they expand many of these elements to work together and produce an album with some surprisingly catchy moments adjacent to drone metal tracks. The whole works quite well, providing stretches of upbeat, well structured rock with more downtrodden and atmospheric songs. Boris has been putting together good amalgams of metal, drone and noise for sometime now; it's good to see their exposure is finally growing to match the strength of their catalogue.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

KungPowza (September 11, 2008)

"I was going to write a big thing talking about how it makes you look idiotic for assuming you know what I listen to at all"

Dude you have a link to your last.fm page in your profile, that'd probably be a good starting place to see what you listen to...

benz (February 15, 2007)

Slurped?

This album rules.

Anonymous (May 5, 2006)

most amazing record ever

Anonymous (February 2, 2006)

ahahaha...the reviewer got fucking burned. that's so awesome.

what the fuck does "slurped" mean, anyways?

SilentStorms (January 31, 2006)

anywhere to get mp3s?

Anonymous (January 30, 2006)

what's the pitchfork web addy?

Anonymous (January 29, 2006)

Ya, jeez. If the last wolf eyes record wasn't so melodic, no one would have heard it!

u moronzz!!!1111

RyanM (January 28, 2006)

"You know what's funny? Watching the Punknews.Org review section occassionally fill up with albums that would not be here if it weren't for Pitchfork Media. It's almost like clockwork; Pitchfork reviews some relatively obscure album favorably, some idiot writes a review for punknews praising said album like it's their discovery. You guys gotta stop raiding your older brother's music collection, it's getting painfully and obnoxiously obvious. Seriously, how many of Boris' past albums have you heard let alone reviewed prior to this album? Guarantee a quick stop at AllMusic.com might've helped you out a bit in appearing like the consummate Boris superfan, but it's abundantly clear you don't know shit. Stick with what you know (like the cache of Pennywise CD's stuffed in your car visor case) and stop pretending to be Mr. Official Music Critic you bunch of idiot kids.

Fucking annoying. I can't wait for Merzbow to release a 'melodic' and/or accessible high profile album and PF jumping all over it (à la the last Wolf Eyes album) . Cue 3 reviews from dumb punk kids talking about how they've been fans for years and just felt compelled to write a review of such an amazing record (yeah, you can't call it an album or a CD, but a Record, like you really own a player).

I hate the kids."

I was going to write a big thing talking about how it makes you look idiotic for assuming you know what I listen to at all, and why I do so, but then I realized it wasn't even worth my time.

Anonymous (January 28, 2006)

Quit suckin off your older brother!

Anonymous (January 28, 2006)

You know what's funny? Watching the Punknews.Org review section occassionally fill up with albums that would not be here if it weren't for Pitchfork Media. It's almost like clockwork; Pitchfork reviews some relatively obscure album favorably, some idiot writes a review for punknews praising said album like it's their discovery. You guys gotta stop raiding your older brother's music collection, it's getting painfully and obnoxiously obvious. Seriously, how many of Boris' past albums have you heard let alone reviewed prior to this album? Guarantee a quick stop at AllMusic.com might've helped you out a bit in appearing like the consummate Boris superfan, but it's abundantly clear you don't know shit. Stick with what you know (like the cache of Pennywise CD's stuffed in your car visor case) and stop pretending to be Mr. Official Music Critic you bunch of idiot kids.

Fucking annoying. I can't wait for Merzbow to release a 'melodic' and/or accessible high profile album and PF jumping all over it (à la the last Wolf Eyes album) . Cue 3 reviews from dumb punk kids talking about how they've been fans for years and just felt compelled to write a review of such an amazing record (yeah, you can't call it an album or a CD, but a Record, like you really own a player).

I hate the kids.

Anonymous (January 27, 2006)

Awsome album, glad to see a review for it.

Anonymous (January 27, 2006)

I can't comment on this, but I have an earlier album and the first track sounds like Robert Fripp space guitar expirementalism, then the rest is like if King Crimson were a thrash band. Good stuff.

-Will

RyanM (January 27, 2006)

"I downloaded this on a whim and fell in love with it. I think this is getting a US release from Southern Lord, therefore saving dishing out lots for the Japanese release....yes?"

Yes, it comes out in March on Southern Lord.

http://www.southernlord.com/boris/

ElVaquero (January 27, 2006)

I'm hearing a lot of good things about this and their "Feedbacker" album. That's what I'm starting with.

gladimnotemo (January 27, 2006)

I downloaded this on a whim and fell in love with it. I think this is getting a US release from Southern Lord, therefore saving dishing out lots for the Japanese release....yes?

dietcokeofpunk (January 27, 2006)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Badenov

better than the band...

Infrarecon (January 27, 2006)

Does anyone know a good Boris album to start with?

Anonymous (January 27, 2006)

So is this Boris as fun as Boris the Sprinkler?

kenjamin (January 27, 2006)

I would like to thank NJ Transit and SEPTA for being waaay overpriced and thus causing me to miss Boris on their recent tour. Boris is sludgy, sometimes complex, and sometimes even sounds like jimi hendrix. Really good review.