(no subject)

[miko2]

Today's Song: Statement by Boris

Boris is a noise/punk/grunge/metal/drone band from Japan. What they are doing follows in the footsteps of old school garage rock like the Sonics, proto-punk like MC-5 and the Stooges, punk, and bands like Nirvanna and (especially) the Melvins. I've never really followed the Melvins but I guess that's one of Boris's big influences. I'd also throw in noise artists like My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth, all of that sort of thing and even a little psychadelica wrapped up into one distorted feedback package of energy.

They are also on the Southern Lord record label which is known for drone metal, especially for the band Sunn 0))) and bands that are in a similar mold. I guess Boris is a bit like that too... not that I know much about Sunn 0))), and what I've heard of them so far doesn't really interest me much. But Boris is fun. ^_^

I don't know what it is about Japanese bands that seem to take the whole "pure noise and energy" ethic of punk and garage bands and really grasp the idea from start to finish, repackage it, and do it even better. I mean, when it comes to noisy garage music old-school style, I love the 5,6,7,8's. I 'm a big fan of pop-punk Shonen Knife of course, and I own a cd of Thee Michelle Gun Elephant which is very heavy, thrashy punk. I also own a cd by Guitar Wolf which is almost pure noise and feedback... it's interesting, at least. And although I'm not a fan really, The Boredoms are legendary for their frenetic energy and noise.

So... Boris is just another in a long line of very noisy Japanese groups. What makes them interesting is that their guitarist Waka is female... it seems rare to find a band where the only female isn't the lead singer or at least the bass player, and especially in a style of music that borders on hard punk or metal.

(We'll conveniently ignore Kristin Hersh's band 50 Foot Wave for the moment, hehe. Yeah, she's a guitarist and they make a great deal of noise.)

Anyway... fun, noisy stuff. Some of their stuff is all noise and shouting but this song in particular I like, it acutally has vocals and melody.

Maybe I need to make a "Noise Rock" playlist now...

Boris -- Statement