Boris/Joe Volk - Split LP

Plucked guitar, shimmering cymbals and background babble open the latest offering from Japanese psychedelic rockers Boris, a split with former Crippled Black Phoenix member Joe Volk, now trying his hand at acoustic guitar work. It’s a peculiar but effective pairing since while both parties seem quite keen on the mind-expanding properties of the long lingering note and share a similar tempo, neither is in danger of being confused with the other. Boris’ half, a three-parter entitled ‘Cosmos’, kicks off with the aforementioned three-minute intro before getting down to some serious crunch and thump that should be most satisfying to fans of their ‘Smile’ and ‘Pink‘ albums, while also containing some of the more shoegazing elements of their latest work, particularly since it has pulled away from the poppier side they have manifested of late. The final part of the trio heads out with spacey electronic noises, repeated guitar patterns and some final shuddering noises as they come in for landing. Volk kicks his side off on a much different note, with some vibrant violin providing the intro for ‘Call to Sun’, a breathily sung bit of folk, fingerpicked to begin with, but as the song heads toward its end some heavy drumming kicks in to let you know things aren’t all winsome and twee in these parts. (The album also appends a radio edit which unfortunately chops off both the tail and the vista forming entrance.) The second track, ‘Finland’, is closer to the first and final parts of Boris’ ‘Cosmos’, starting with some fuzzy shimmer that suggests a great sonic vista, soon joined by some more fingerpicked guitar that might remind some of Boxhead Ensemble’s more cinematic work, as well as Ben Chasney of Six Organs of Admittance’s varied output. Boris fans will want to snap this up as its the best thing they’ve done in the last couple of years, and fans of either act will hopefully find something they like in the other, superfluous radio edit aside.

Track Listing:-

1 Boris (3) Cosmos (Pt 1)
2 Boris (3) Cosmos (Pt 2)
3 Boris (3) Cosmos (Pt 3)
4 Joe Volk Call To Sun
5 Joe Volk Finland

Band Links:-

http://www.borisheavyrocks.com/
http://boris.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/borisheavyroc
https://twitter.com/borisheavyrocks
https://www.facebook.com/Joe-Volk-1220
http://joevolk.co.uk/