Boris: W | 4ZZZ Brisbane 102.1FM

- It was an odd realisation for me that Boris have more albums notched in their ever more scarred slab of granite than I have years around the sun. W sees Boris’ ambient abilities make a recrudescence and marks their debut on Sacred Bones. These renowned amplifier abusers have dialled almost everything back to a faint thrums. Seeing as their last album ended on an ambient interlude, W can be seen as a continuation of No. Outside that interesting tidbit, a continuation it is not. This record works perfectly, all unto itself. Much like the best pieces of ambient work, it is best consumed in it’s entirety.

We descend on the ride that is I Want to Go to the Side You Can Touch…from above, like fog rolling down Toowoomba’s many hills, with the grace of a weightless spectre. Disembodied vocals, which are a consistent feature across W, eddie around percussion that does little more than add texture and an ever growing swell of discordant layering. To offset I Want to Go’s shrill symphony, Icelina leans into its title’s cool aesthetic. Gentle chords ripple across the runtime as Wata is near inaudible in her whispers. Other elements of melody hone in this close to aquatic sound while a minor spattering of percussion maintains a minor beat. A minute wail emerges from the depth but much like a thought during meditation, passes by once recognised. You’ll have to wait a bit longer if you’re fanging for some classic Boris because Drowning By Numbers is intense in a different fashion. Innumerable swirls of feedback blanket a swarm of pipping electronics. Drums have shifted gears from textural sideshows to a shuffling, disjointed anxiety.

Invitation is drawn right from William Basinski’s playbook. Stubborn, callously robotic rhythms decay before our very ears and continue their planned obsolescence. Rigid repetition is gradually superseded by failing audio. True to form is The Fallen. Enormous riffs launch themselves into the air; a kraken’s warning for weary souls who are unlucky enough to stray into its waters. Equal in weight is the kraken’s body in the form of a Jon Paul Sigmarrson sized rhythmic body. To follow this with Beyond Good And Evil is fitting. In the wake of kaiju chaos, lonesome drums emerge as sole survivors and outside a strident surge in its belly, it is back to calm. Old Projector now steadies our ship, eschewing any punch until final throngs. An epiphany arrives in the form of You Will Know. Boris now offer an oblation with dreamy and ultimately pretty guitar work removing gravity and allowing for this piece to float, much like the opener. Jozan farewells W with the record's briefest piece. A real ride off into the sunset feel pervades its scorching guitar work; is it possibly an interlude bridge to their next release?

In skirting their penchant for an all out assault, the trio that is Boris have only gone and made an all engrossing piece of ambient music. Sonic sages such as these can render art in a variety of modes. If I get a new Boris record every time I go around the sun, well, I’ll be a very chuffed chap.

- Matt Lynch.