Boris @ Nice 'n' Sleazy's

After another year of hard work, both in touring and release schedule, Boris return to the UK for a largely sold out tour, including this packed date in Glasgow. As has become the norm for Southern Lord bands on tour, talk concerning this gig has either focused upon the merch available or how 'posers' who turn up for the merch are tossers and don't deserve the tickets. Which is all a bit of a shame, Boris have recently released a formidable run of albums and EPs, most prominently 'Pink' and 'Rainbow', both of which contributed to the show. In short Boris are still at their very peak, and the increasing variety of their material indicates a band that are far from stale.

The set tonight includes a large chunk of 'Pink' including both the post rock and heavy rock sides, culminating in a gorgeous rendition of Flood, perhaps the pinnacle of Boris' career so far. Before Boris though was the questionable support, local 'electro doom' one man project Loss Leader. Playing guitar and singing over laptop backing, he immediately hit problems with the backing going out of sync almost immediately after about 30 seconds. After a couple of attempts he resorted to playing an improvised, Khanate inspired (yet particularly uninspired) few minutes of doom. Sadly it just doesn't work tonight, and the set is abandoned abruptly. After listening to a few tracks away from the gig, Loss Leader has a very interesting m83 mixed with some Joy Division type sound, which seems a baffling relation to doom, but would be well worth checking out.

After the extremely brief support, and the novelty of the merchandise stall wearing off, Boris come to the stage quickly and kick off the evening proper with 'parting'. A straightforward and easy opener to the evening, it seems to set out the band's agenda for the evening i.e. waves of feedback, riffs and some great vocal melody. Sadly this rules out the Melvins inspired sludge of Amplifier Worship, but you can't have it all. A nice mix of tracks are played across the rest of the set, including tracks from Heavy Rocks, Akuma No Uta, Rainbow and more from Pink. The heavy rock mid section of the set is utterly exhilarating, Atsuo's drumming being a major high point. For a band that do rock and roll so well, Boris are equally if not more impressive at droning post rock soundscapes. Of which 'Flood' is a perfect example, and is the highlight of the set and a perfect second half. Boris play a slightly truncated version tonight, around 35minutes compared with the 70 minutes and four parts of the original album.

The performance is near perfect and every movement works wonderfully. The band moves quickly through the quieter parts, yet the cacophonous, feedback drenched outro is milked for everything it is worth. Atsuo steals the show at this point, abandoning his drumkit and concentrating upon hammering the gong at the back of the stage, making perfect use of what could have been a gimmick. But Boris are far from being a band that could ever be seriously accused of being gimmicky, and they work through a varied set which is absolutely seamless. The only criticisms tonight are that most people cant actually see the band and we don't get an encore.

Boris may be constantly evolving their sound yet as long as they are willing to play the likes of Flood, Feedbacker or Absolutego live they will continue to be an incredible live band.


Notes

• Boris have a packed release schedule this year, so far this year they have released - Walrus/Groon, Rainbow LP + Boxset, Split 2xLP w/Doomriders
• A live 2xCD with Merzbow is on the way, as well as a split 10" with Stupid Babies Go Mad
• The UK tour culminates with a date at Koko in London with Isis and Oxbow (full band, not the Oxbow acoustic duo that toured the UK with Isis)

Links

• Inoxia Records
• Boris Homepage
• Southern Lord
• Hydrahead Records
• Nice N Sleazy Homepage
  

The Goslings - Grandeur of Hair

aRCHIVE Recordings
2006
Limited CD

First things first, this may be a textbook case of artwork fitting the music it envelops perfectly. 'Grandeur of Hair' is an album of thick, pulsing, analogue drone carried along by peaking sludgy riffs and hypnotic female vocals. This is a brand of noise or drone that is most similar to Boris at their most dense, with much appreciated nods towards My Bloody Valentine. The Munch woodcut in pink, messily applied to a black background seems to characterise an album where pretty features and form emerge out of the waves of feedback and sludge.

As with most drone albums, 'Grandeur of Hair' should be played very loudly, though unlike most there are frequent riffs and vocal hooks that pull your attention back, in a familiar and melodic way rather than a reliance upon the power of the raw sound. Which, incidentally, is huge. The frighteningly harsh guitar parts are distorted and twisted into something with a texture of its own. Its a completely compelling sound, that (as mentioned before) comes closest to Boris' more drone moments such as Flood and Absolutego. The production and mastering courtesy of James Plotkin is perfect, even quieter sections such as the clean guitar part in 'Windowpane' is played over a backdrop of static, which avoids jarring dynamics and basically maintains a theme throughout the album. However there seems to be a clash of ideas in this, the rich drone is in constant flux, changing with the melodic elements, but there is never any satisfying theme or change in dynamic that develops. The sheer noise on the individual tracks works really well, yet it is relentless from start to finish without any real let up or development. It's maybe a personal preference, but some respite before the undeniably awesome wall of noise that characterises the album.

The idea of heavy, slow noise rock is certainly compelling, tracks like 'Croatan' and 'Overnight' are utterly crushing, but it's hard to keep tuned in to the whole running time of this album. As mentioned earlier, the melodic nods always catch the ear, but despite the background noise sounding fantastic, the constant changes means that it never settles into being memorable or distinct in any way. This is a bit of a shame, because the components of this album are completely absorbing (I doubt anyone could avoid getting sucked in by the opening of 'Own a Car') but a lot of the impact is lost when listening all the way through.

'Grandeur of Hair' is certainly a very impressive record, and for a first experience of The Goslings it gives the impression of a group that have mastered their sound, fans of noise rock will definitely enjoy this record (if they do not own it already), though others may find it ultimately disappointing after a fantastic opening. A dirty and brutally sludgy album, which is different enough to stand out from most albums of its type.


7 / 1 0


Notes

• 'Grandeur of Hair' is one of the most recent releases on aRCHIVE, a label distinguished by lavish, individual packaging and limited runs of various noise/doom/drone/etc. groups. Notable releases have included Sunn O)))'s LiveWhite and both Khanate and Boris live sets
• The artwork is provided by www.cjadesign.com
• Limited Pressing of 500 cds, most aRCHIVE cds are unlikely to be reprinted, only the Khanate Live Sets have been repressed so far.
  

Links

• aCHIVE Recordings
• The Goslings homepage
• Myspace
  

Knut - Challenger

One of the best and most under-rated technical metalcore albums ever, incorporating much more than the genre description allows and at least as clever as contemporaries such as Botch. Largely forgotten about, this is one of the harshest yet varied albums of the genre. Not rooted in the punk/hardcore sound like Converge or Coalesce and brutally heavy without any metal cliches. The title for this blog is taken from the track 'Neon Guide' (obviously), as Challenger is an album I would always consider one of my all time favourites, i can only hope my overview can do this album justice.

The album strides into life with the powerful 'Whacked out'. Typically for Knut, slow but forceful chords give way to a pounding technical assault, choatic guitar lines cover a relentless and clever rhythm section easily. Most important here are Didier Severin's brutal yet emotional vocals, which work perfectly with the cold and metallic production, both contributing massively to the mood of the album. The first four tracks follow a similar formula, all with aggressive technicality, unorthodox breakdowns and just enough respite for it to hold together. No other metalcore bands have been able to mix mid-tempo groove with technical intensity quite so effectively. Some amazing riffs and incredibly tight writing are completely unforgettable.

From 'Neon Guide' to '58.788' the pace of the album changes considerably. Neon Guide is one enormous riff, pretty much without any metalcore influences and almost doom-like. The following track, 'H/Armless' is undoubtedly the high point of the album however. An unrelenting dirge of one note pounding, building up and falling away, constantly tense due to the desperate and vicious vocals. By all means it should be tiring, but even without the threat of something changing, 'H/Armless' is weirdly compelling.

The rest of the album is paced perfectly, after 'H/Armless' it relents and returns to earlier technicality, via the acoustic, sampled laden '58.788'. Album closer 'March' is another 20 minutes of pounding and controlled aggression and pretty much unbeatable as a way of ending. Admitedly, the second half is not as compelling as the first six tracks, yet the change in pace is very welcome and finishing on a slow burn fits Knut much more than a futher burst of energy.

I think the reason why i hold Challenger up so highly is that it is still a unique sounding metalcore/mathcore record. Released when their only real contemporary, Botch, were fumbling and about to release their most straightforward record (An Anthology of Dead Ends) and probably at the end of Hydrahead's mathcore days, 'Challenger' stands out as the best album of that period. After a 3 year absence, the follow up to Challenger, 'Terraformer' finally arrived. Definitely a very good album, but it lacked the tension of Challenger, much less vocals, more samples and a preference for slower riffing. A notoriously slow band with a reluctance to tour, i don't see Knut splitting up soon, and i can only hope that they release another album as good as Challenger. It will almost certainly not be a mathcore album, and that is even more exciting.

1 0 / 1 0

Notes

• Knut and Hydrahead released their long awaited remix album in 2006, featuring a number of extremely odd remixes, but also an excellent remix of H/Armless by J.K. Broderick (Jesu, Godflesh, im sure everyone knows, etc.)
• Knut seem to playing most of their shows in Geneva at the moment, though a European tour is due in September/October of this year

Links

• Mp3s (Knut official site)
• H/Armless live w/Isis (Youtube link)
• Video for H/Armless J.K. Broderick remix (Youtube link)
  

Lair Of The Minotaur @ Nice 'n' Sleazy's

2/6/07
Supports - Capricorns, 1 more

Southern Lord's Lair of the Minotaur finally make it over to the UK, taking Capricorns along with them. LOTM's most recent album 'The Ultimate Destroyer' was an awesome piece of unpolished, gritty metal fury, now with a new drummer following Larry Herweg from Pelican leaving the band and a new album on the way. Main support Capricorns are gaining popularity, and hopefully will have improved since I last saw them supporting Keelhaul.

Local supports start the night very well, strongly melodic, yet able to bring some fierce riffs. The vocals work really well, and stay away from straightforward shouting and the whole thing is definitely catchy. The only surprise comes from the introduction of a didgeridoo, which broke up the set nicely, but didn't really do enough to make the rest of the set memorable. A good start though, and I will certainly be looking out for them once I remember what they were called (Sorry)

Capricorns are a much bigger deal however, it definitely seems like a good amount of the crowd are here to see them, and they don't disappoint. Opening with some killer riffs and a healthy groove that carries on for the whole of the set, it is no wonder most of the crowd get swept in. Largely instrumental (not what i was expecting), but with more than enough going on instrumentally and more character than bands like Pelican, it works really well. The highlights would either be the opening riffs, or the new song which closed the set. Much longer than the other songs played, and featuring one growled verse of vocals, it hopefully gives an indication of where the band are going. The final riff played is fantastic, and leaves LOTM with a lot to make up.

Kicking off with the sludgy 'Behead the Gorgon', LOTM are disappointing at first. The rest of the band seems to shrink behind singer/guitarist Steven Rathbone, and everything just doesn't seem loud enough. After getting used to this, and once the band get warmed up (so it seems), things fall into place, despite a slightly less enthusiastic reception. All of the better tracks from their two albums are given an outing, 'The Hydra Coils...' being a fantastic bleak and sludgy centrepiece and encore song 'Juggernaut of Metal' proving their finest hour. It's a shame really that the band sound so flat on the night, the brutal vocals sound a bit dead and the guitar just isn't loud enough. Expecting a full on, harsh and undisputably metal performance, i got something that was amazing in its own right, but didn't live up to my ideal.


Notes

• Lair of the Minotaur played new material last night, it seems to be more technical, but still carrying everything you would expect from them.
  
• Japanese Noise/Hard Rock/Post Rock/Doom/whatever legends are due to play at Sleazy's on June 27th, for what will be an incredible gig.

Links

• Southern Lord
• Rise Above
• Nice N Sleazy
  

Growing - Vision Swim

Troubleman 2007
Format - 12"

Vision Swim is an interesting record, to say the least. A further move away from Growing's drone heavy guitar led style, and another move towards glitchy electronics. To sum this record up, it all holds together very well, thin meandering guitar lines string together repeated awkward glitches, and the other electronic flourishes that are dotted around the record give it an almost playful and dreamlike character. As it is though, it feels shallow and as if something should happen yet it never does. The first side develops nicely, themes repeat, layers are added, yet never becomes memorable. I appreciate that it is slightly ridiculous to expect something catchy from a Growing record, but it seems that now what attracted me to Growing in the first place has taken a back-seat an I'm struggling to feel the same connection. The hypnotic repetition has been set back for something else to develop.

Moving onto more positive aspects of this record, it very definitely has character, I enjoy having this record chatting away to me. The variety of sounds involved means that such a twitchy album doesn't really grate as it could quite easily do, especially on the second track 'On Anon' which is genuinely brilliant. As mentioned earlier it develops wonderfully and every layer of intertwined noise sounds just right, it dominates the first side and is by far the best thing on the album. The other tracks don't seem to follow the same structure and definitely suffer for it, which is a shame.

All things considered, i like Vision Swim, a lot. Once I got used to the fact that this was going to be a very different thing from 'The Sky's Run Into The Sea', Vision Swim proved to be a unique and charming record which stands on its own as a worthy addition to Growing's catalogue

Seeing as this is my first review, i'm going to use scores.

8 / 1 0

Notes -

• The artwork for the vinyl version of this record is really quite interesting, and for that matter, fiddly. 18 different shapes are cut out of the outer sleeve, which reveals the inner sleeve, which is another collage of photographs with a background of a palm tree in a garden. Its odd, but i think it fits the record.
• I'd like to do a review of the Growing live 2xlp that Conspiracy re-issued recently, as i am absolutely in love with that record, but i don't want to go overboard with Growing and i'd like to be a bit more objective.
• No UK tour

p.s. this is a first draft that im not entirely happy with, but i'll change it soon.

First Post

The aim of this blog isn't to get lots of readers or necessarily sway people's opinions, but more to make me filter the ridiculous amount of thoughts that I have about music not many people are interested in hearing about. I hope to get to the point where I can be proud of the submissions I make for both expressing my personal feelings and giving a rounded impression of the qualities of the record/show/bootleg/album art.