Boris – Heavy Rocks 2011 – Sargent House - ??? - ****

On Heavy Rocks, the durable Japanese trio Boris interrogate and deform standard metal, underground and hard rock moves to the point where they become borderline avant-garde gestures. Riot Sugar is a pulsating riff that resolutely refuses to evolve. Leak-Truth Yesnoyesnoyes begins with the explosive psychedelic wig out you usually find at the end of a song.

The cautiously tuneful arpeggios of Missing Pieces are interrupted by a two minute edit of aircraft noise. A second, simultaneously released, album, Attention Please, defies attempts to define the band, jettisoning rock postures for electronic textures, as Boris' female guitarist Wata takes lead vocals on a set of claustrophobic, ambient pieces. See You Next Week and You suggest a breathless Bjork in a bathysphere, and are especially beautiful.

(25/5/11)