Boris - W ALBUM REVIEW

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I mean, if you name your album W, that’s just peak confidence.


If you don’t know about the Japanese rock scene, that’s totally okay. Even if they aren’t the most popular group, Boris is one of the huge pillars in modern Japanese music. They’ve been active since 1993 and have had a steady output since then. Their 2005 album, PINK, is widely considered to be one of the best noise-rock albums ever. The first part of this album was released back in 2020, titled NO. With the group’s new album being titled only W, I think I’m sensing a theme here. Anyways, let’s get into it.

What’s most striking about this album is that this is a slight shift away from the group’s typical sound. Instead of the stoner metal that they perform so well, W has more of a shoegaze and even a dream pop sound. Because of this shift, it makes this album one of Boris’s least heavy albums yet, maybe even the least heavy music they’ve made so far. There may be some disappointment in that, but there’s still some heaviness here for the fans to enjoy. The issue with this, though, is that I believe that the shoegaze tracks are better than the heavier tracks. The group doesn’t get out of their comfort zone enough on this album, and the heavy tracks simply don’t hit as well as the shoegaze tracks. I enjoy the concept of healing and getting through the pain throughout the album and the shoegaze tracks help bolster that concept. The heavier tracks don’t, and the album is mostly the heavy tracks. Overall, I think W is just okay. Even with the occasional risk in their formula, Boris need to step more out of their comfort zone to wow me.


6/10


Listen here

YouTube Music




W is a Sacred Bones release.

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