Boris - Attention Please / Heavy Rocks

June 27, 2011

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Well, shee-it… when did Boris go from virtually no online presence but for Stephen O’Malley’s and Aquarius Records’ constant praise to full-time social network coverage and a Bandcamp page? What a difference a few years makes. As Boris are one of the few bands I’ve followed across my adult life, I looked forward to getting these records – departures for them in a lot of ways – and checking in with one of the only heavy bands dedicated to real growth and evolution.

For a band dedicated to expanding their palette, it’s kinda hard to pinpoint that evolution, as their catalog is stylistically squirrelly. A cathartic doom metal band with shoegaze and stoner rock expansion packets has transformed into a pop band with trippy electronic and metal tinges – a cyborg Stooges with an occasional affinity for narcotic dream pop. With Attention Please and Heavy Rocks, the old nomenclature, whereby uppercase “BORIS” indicates mammoth riffage and lowercase “boris” the opposite, no longer applies. Heavy is rowdier, and Attention focuses on guitarist Wata’s vocals. But across both records, the basic engine is the song. Boris’ elements are still there: ambient sprawl, Harley-revving riffs, crashing doom chords, and bubblegum doo-wop background vocals. The main difference now is that these songs are razor-tight, with immaculate production. These are the most get-to-the-point songs they’ve recorded.

As thrilling as these albums get (and wow, “GALAXIANS” is a rollercoaster of a metal song), I’m not sure where these songs will rank next to the Boris songs I already love. Yet, as quick of a fix these songs provide, they’re crammed with so much detail that my impression of them keeps growing. In the end, this is the only constant indicator of a Boris album: that beneath all the novelty and madness lie heartfelt expression and dedication to art. That kind of trust is a bond I’ve made and broke (and sometimes re-made) with a lot of bands: Metallica, Morbid Angel, Sepultura, Sunn O))). That I’m still along for the ride with Boris after about eight years is the highest compliment I can give.

— Alee Karim

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HEAR BORIS

– STREAM BOTH ALBUMS IN THEIR ENTIRETY –

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“GALAXIANS” (from Heavy Rocks)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5BSO5zBvSk

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“Hope” (from Attention Please)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzFLiO5hIKA

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BUY BORIS