Rarely does Boris ever stick to conformity. Having covered just about every rock and rock-adjacent genre in their currently ongoing 34-year career, the band is always looking for ways to innovate and create new soundscapes.
Serving as a companion piece to their previous album, “NO,” their twenty-sixth album, “W,” sees the band returning to a more dreamy, ambient pop/rock sound—a hard contrast to “NO”’s overly-aggressive noise rock approach.
The album may best be appreciated while relaxing with one’s eyes closed, as it almost feels like a dream or a far-off memory. Boris creates gorgeous, echoey landscapes with droning, crying guitars. Wata, who usually provides lead guitar, also takes the helm for lead vocals this album—something that the bassist, Takeshi, usually does.
Her vocals perfectly compliment the sorrowfulness of the album, especially on tracks such as “Beyond Good and Evil,” a song inspired by the bombing of Hiroshima, Wata’s home town. The calm and steady first half of the song lulls the listener into a sense of security, before it explodes with some seriously emotional guitar shredding, serving as one of the few intense moments on the album.
Though not as heavy as a lot of their other works, and though some moments slack a bit, “W” still serves as a beautiful and at times harrowing experience.
Rating: 8.5/10