W | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 21 January 2022 | |||
Recorded | 2021 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:34 | |||
Label | Sacred Bones | |||
Producer | Boris | |||
Boris chronology | ||||
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W is the twenty-seventh studio album by Japanese experimental band Boris, released 21 January 2022 on the Sacred Bones label. [2]
W is intended to be a companion piece to the band's 2020 studio album NO , with the titles of the two albums combining to create the word NOW. [3] Whereas the previous album focused on aggressive hardcore songs, W focuses on ethereal and ambient compositions to serve as a counterpoint. [4] The two albums are intended to address the conflicts and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, [5] with the band describing the project as “a continuous circle of harshness and healing". [6]
Several reviewers noticed that W builds upon the song "Interlude" which closed the previous album, with other reviewers finding connections between various songs on each album. [7] [5] Among recent Boris albums, W is unusual because guitarist Wata performs all of the lead vocals. [8]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.6/10 [9] |
Metacritic | 81/100 [10] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [7] |
Beats Per Minute | 86% [11] |
Clash | 8/10 [12] |
Loud and Quiet | 8/10 [13] |
Our Culture Mag | [14] |
Paste | 8.0/10 [15] |
Pitchfork | 7.8/10 [16] |
Upon its release, W received largely positive reviews. Greg Hyde of Backseat Mafia noted the haunting quality of Wata's vocals, and concluded that "fans of Boris should find it interesting to hear the band perform material that is far more ethereal than that which they will be used to hearing them play." [4] Metal Injection noted that the album's ambient compositions appear to be influenced by artists as diverse as My Bloody Valentine, Portishead, and John Cage, and noted that the album highlights lesser-known new age and psychedelic components of Boris's sound. [5] Reviewer Alex Deller of The Quietus noted that not all of the album is slow and ambient, with some of the band's customary aggressive riffs appearing occasionally to add a sense of variety. Deller called the album "an intricately-wrought, nest-like space that manages to intrigue and fascinate despite the familiar elements that have been used in its construction". [1]
Invisible Oranges described W as shoegaze with elements of electronic music and drone metal, concluding that the album "takes their [Boris's] noisier textures to new heights while leveraging Wata’s vocals to alternately lull, scintillate, and shush the listener." [6] In a review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek noted that Wata's quiet vocals often fail to rise above the sonic backdrop, but concluded that this contributes to the album's atmospheric nature while the album "offers a more elegant, restrained side of Boris than we've ever encountered before." [7]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "I Want to Go to the Side Where You Can Touch..." | 5:24 |
2. | "Icelina" | 5:18 |
3. | "Drowning by Numbers" | 4:16 |
4. | "Invitation" | 2:56 |
5. | "The Fallen" | 4:30 |
6. | "Beyond Good and Evil" | 3:51 |
7. | "Old Projector" | 4:38 |
8. | "You Will Know (Ohayo Version)" | 9:20 |
9. | "Jozan" | 1:25 |
Total length: | 41:34 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
10. | "Solioquy" | 6:19 |
Total length: | 47:56 |
Boris
Additional personnel
Shoegaze is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volume. It emerged in Ireland and the United Kingdom in the late 1980s among neo-psychedelic groups who usually stood motionless during live performances in a detached, non-confrontational state. The name comes from the heavy use of effects pedals, as the performers were often looking down at their pedals during concerts.
Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as reverb, echo, tremolo, and chorus. It often overlaps with the related genre of shoegaze, and the two genre terms have at times been used interchangeably.
Isn't Anything is the debut studio album by Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine, released on 21 November 1988 by Creation Records. Its innovative guitar and production techniques consolidated the experimentation of the band's preceding EPs and would make the album a pioneering work of the subgenre known as shoegazing. Upon its release, the album received rave critical reviews and reached #1 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.
Boris is a Japanese band formed in 1992 in Tokyo and composed of drummer Atsuo, guitarist/bassist Takeshi, and guitarist/keyboardist Wata. All three members contribute vocals. Their work has drawn variously on styles such as sludge rock, drone, metal, noise, psychedelia, and minimalism. Boris has released more than twenty studio albums on various labels around the world, as well as a wide variety of live albums, compilations, EPs, singles, and collaborative albums. They have collaborated with acts such as Sunn O))), Merzbow, Keiji Haino, and guitarist Michio Kurihara.
Altar is a collaborative album by Japanese experimental music group Boris and American drone metal band Sunn O))), released on October 31, 2006 through Southern Lord Records (SUNN62). A limited two-CD edition was released on October 23 via Southern Lord with a 28-minute bonus track with Sunn O))), Boris, and Dylan Carlson, titled "Her Lips Were Wet with Venom". Inoxia Records released their own two-CD version in 2006 which features a bonus track on the first disc, "The Sinking Belle ", and also features "Her Lips Were Wet with Venom" on disc 2. The triple-vinyl edition by Southern Lord contains all of the songs from their two-CD edition, additional pictures, and liner notes by Kim Thayil. The Daymare 3LP version was released March 23, 2007 and features a bonus track not found on any other version of this release: "The Sinking Belle ".
Pygmalion is the third studio album by English rock band Slowdive, released on 6 February 1995 by Creation Records. It was the group's final album before their reformation in 2014, and their only album with Ian McCutcheon, who had replaced Simon Scott on drums.
Pink is the tenth album by Japanese experimental music band Boris. It was originally released in 2005 through Diwphalanx Records in Japan and subsequently reissued in 2006 by American label Southern Lord Records. The album received favorable reviews, particularly for incorporating more melody into the band's abrasive sound.
Rainbow is a collaborative album between Japanese rock band Boris and guitarist Michio Kurihara. Wata contributed vocals to the title song, which has a music video made for it by Foodunited.
Rock Dream is a collaborative live album between Japanese band Boris and Japan noise musician Merzbow.
69 is the debut album by British band A.R. Kane, released in 1988 on Rough Trade Records and produced by the band with additional co-production from Ray Shulman. Following the release of their acclaimed Lollita and Up Home! EPs, 69 developed the experimental "dream pop" style pioneered by the duo, blending elements of dub, acid rock, jazz, noise, and pop.
Heavy Rocks, also known as Heavy Rocks 2 or Heavy Rocks 2011, is the sixteenth studio album by the Japanese experimental band Boris. The album was released on May 24, 2011, through the label Sargent House. It is the second of three Boris albums of this title, with the others being released in 2002 and 2022; all feature the band exploring hard rock and heavy metal sounds. The band repeated the album title for this release because they "seek to redefine 'heavy' music in a culmination of the band's tireless efforts over the past two decades".
Attention Please is the seventeenth studio album by the Japanese experimental band Boris. The album was released on May 24, 2011, through the label Sargent House. Its original release date was April 26, but this was pushed back. The album features vocals in every track sung by Wata.
Les Voyages de l'âme is the third studio album by French blackgaze band Alcest, released on January 6, 2012, by Prophecy Productions. An edited version of the song "Autre temps" was released as a single alongside an accompanying music video. The album was described as a musical synthesis of the previous two albums, blending shoegaze, post-rock, and black metal influences.
Noise is the nineteenth studio album by Japanese rock band Boris. The Japanese edition of the album was released on 18 June 2014 via Avex Group's sub-label Tearbridge Records and consists of the original album plus other songs previously released on other endeavors, such as "Kimi no Yukue" which was used for a promotional video for the Chunsoft video game Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward in Japan. This is the second Boris album released through a major label. It was released on 17 June 2014 through Sargent House record label internationally on both CD and double vinyl. A Japanese double vinyl edition was released by Daymare Recordings.
Dear is the twenty-fourth studio album by Japanese experimental band Boris. Released on 14 July 2017 through Sargent House record label, it marks the band's 25th anniversary. The music video for the track "Absolutego", which shares its title with the band's 1996 debut, was also released in May 2017.
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No is the twenty-sixth studio album by Japanese experimental band Boris, released 3 July 2020 on the band's label Fangs Anal Satan.
Fatigue is the second record by Brooklyn-based experimental musician Taja Cheek, under the moniker of L'Rain. It is her first recording with record label Mexican Summer. Fatigue builds on Cheek's experimental compositional approach, drawing from an eclectic collection of genres and employing field recording elements. Instrumentally, it has help from twenty collaborators, who lend the record clavinet, saxophone, and more.
Heavy Rocks is the twenty-eighth studio album by Japanese experimental band Boris, released on 12 August 2022 by Relapse Records. It is the third Boris album of this title, with the previous ones released in 2002 and 2011; all feature the band exploring hard rock and heavy metal sounds. The band described the album as both a celebration of their 30th anniversary and as part of a continuous evolution in their music. The album was preceded by the singles "She Is Burning", "Question 1", and "My Name Is Blank".