Boris - Attention Please (01/09/2011)
Japan’s Boris recently released their third album for this year, a feat which is incredibly impressive for any band. In their nineteen year long career, Boris have released 17 studio albums in a multitude of genres, ranging from drone metal, to sludge, to stoner, even branching into j-pop territory on this year’s New Album. Attention Please is a departure from that, as it is a shoe-gaze album, having much more in common with My Bloody Valentine than Sunn O))).
This album is unique among Boris albums as it is the first in which guitarist Wata performs lead vocals. This works well, as her vocals perfectly complement the dreamy sounds of the album, and her guitar playing is flawless. Attention Please is a lot more chilled and relaxed than most Boris albums,
All three albums Boris have released already this year are all completely different, in a continuation of Boris’s desire to not be associated with any single musical style. New Album was catchy j-pop, Heavy Rocks (non to be confused with 2002’s Heavy Rocks, even though they share similar cover art) was Boris’s attempt at reigniting the stale heavy music scene, and Attention Please is shoe-gaze. Most bands would not be able to release and record albums in such varying styles, but Boris are unlike most bands.
Party Boy is a track that is on both New Again, and Attention please, and it starts off with an almost dance-like drum beat, before developing into a catchy chorus, that’s really not like anything Boris has done in the past. See You Next Week is a quieter, ambient song, which works well in giving the listener some time to relax between songs. This song actually reminded me of the album Ghosts by Nine Inch Nails, and apart from some background noise, there are some sparse notes played by Wata, while her haunting voice floats over the track, giving it an ethereal sound that works really well. Spoon is a great track, being one of the faster songs on the album, and featuring some great drumming courtesy of Atsuo. Wata’s vocals are exceptional on this song, just like the rest of the album, and if Boris continue to write more melodic, mellow songs, I hope Wata still gets a chance to sing.
While a long way from Boris’s best albums (that honour is reserved for Pink, the original Heavy Rocks and Vein,) Attention Please is still the best album they’ve released this year, and with a little refinement, this could be the sound that works for them. Wata proves she’s not only an incredible guitarist, but also a great vocalist, and I hope Boris will continue to use her vocals, as she just adds a side to the band that works so well in their favour.
Josh Mitrou
This album is unique among Boris albums as it is the first in which guitarist Wata performs lead vocals. This works well, as her vocals perfectly complement the dreamy sounds of the album, and her guitar playing is flawless. Attention Please is a lot more chilled and relaxed than most Boris albums,
All three albums Boris have released already this year are all completely different, in a continuation of Boris’s desire to not be associated with any single musical style. New Album was catchy j-pop, Heavy Rocks (non to be confused with 2002’s Heavy Rocks, even though they share similar cover art) was Boris’s attempt at reigniting the stale heavy music scene, and Attention Please is shoe-gaze. Most bands would not be able to release and record albums in such varying styles, but Boris are unlike most bands.
Party Boy is a track that is on both New Again, and Attention please, and it starts off with an almost dance-like drum beat, before developing into a catchy chorus, that’s really not like anything Boris has done in the past. See You Next Week is a quieter, ambient song, which works well in giving the listener some time to relax between songs. This song actually reminded me of the album Ghosts by Nine Inch Nails, and apart from some background noise, there are some sparse notes played by Wata, while her haunting voice floats over the track, giving it an ethereal sound that works really well. Spoon is a great track, being one of the faster songs on the album, and featuring some great drumming courtesy of Atsuo. Wata’s vocals are exceptional on this song, just like the rest of the album, and if Boris continue to write more melodic, mellow songs, I hope Wata still gets a chance to sing.
While a long way from Boris’s best albums (that honour is reserved for Pink, the original Heavy Rocks and Vein,) Attention Please is still the best album they’ve released this year, and with a little refinement, this could be the sound that works for them. Wata proves she’s not only an incredible guitarist, but also a great vocalist, and I hope Boris will continue to use her vocals, as she just adds a side to the band that works so well in their favour.
Josh Mitrou