Boris & Ian Astbury
BXI EP
(Southern Lord Records)
A credible joining of forces
Possibly not the unlikeliest collaboration since the David Bowie/ Bing Crosby sashay on 1977’s ‘Little Drummer Boy’ but certainly a collaboration you wouldn’t have guessed at. Ian Astbury, the large voiced front man of 80’s post punk champions The Cult teams up with Japan’s doom-laden sludge rockers Boris on this 4 track EP featuring 3 original compositions, sung by Astbury, and a cover of The Cult’s ‘Rain’ sung by Boris guitarist Wata. The results, you’ll find, are surprisingly decent.
Chunky, to the point rock and roll with some heavy stomping at its edges, this is far from ever being the cynical marketing ploy you may consider it, neither is it a bizarre karaoke-esque shindig for the sake of it. Opening track ‘Teeth And Claws’ is a solid bonding of genres with expansive chord structures and a melodic underpinning so unexpected it’s almost unnoticed. Astbury’s vocal, though less obvious than anticipated, holds the perfect emotional scale, almost soaring in fact, to secure everything together nicely. On ‘We Are Witches’ is where Boris reveal what they do best, a crunching, bone-grinder of a song with a sterling lead vocal that more than stands up to the challenge, a growl and a snarl and a shift up-gear by the former Cult man again brings it all in tightly. Intrigue will lead you to pore over the next song as naturally as intrigue does - ‘Rain’ sung not by its author this time , but Japanese guitarist Wata - her vocal much noticeably softer than Astbury’s original hollering floods the song with something close to sensuality, even through the gritty backdrop of guitar, her voice still the ghost that haunts things and takes the 80’s anthem to places you’d never assume it might go. Last track ‘Magikal Child’ an atmospheric laden stomp and grind guitar waltz with chords dipping and changing back and forth, falling before rising further and stronger in the distance. It may not be a record to suit the vagaries of everyone but that’s not the point anyway. Ian Astbury can still talk the talk and Boris are a strikingly clever band.
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