Boredoms - Vision Creation Newsun
(Birdman)
In yet another occurrence of Napster causing music lovers to actually purchase more music, I
bought Vision Creation Newsun, excited to see that it had finally gotten an American release.
Initially released last year as a Japanese box set, I downloaded this from Napster several months
ago (figuring it was time to check in on the Boredoms, whose Super Roots 7 excited me with
their new direction).
The album is stunning--I can't imagine music any more exciting than this. The group has
evolved from the shrill, piercing electronics of Pop Tatari to a looser, Krautrock-influenced
style. The electronics are still heavy, as the rock jams are processed with sweeping synthesizer
and harsh tones. Sometimes the electronics are just there to fuck up the live musicians, and
sometimes they bury them under a classic Boredoms wall of sound.
The untitled first track (the Japanese issue used drawings for each title but the domestic releases
is untitled) is a brilliant 13-minute pastiche of noise and rock. The new percussion-heavy sound
of the Boredoms is in full force not even five minutes into the song, where the other instruments
drop out and an insane, furious drum beat starts building up. The melody (and there is actually a
melody) dances all around the piece until totally falling apart. Everything comes back in like a
plane crash, sweeping debris over the soloing guitar and distant keyboards. To some it may
sound like complete chaos, but the Boredoms have actually structured the piece brilliantly.
Eye's tortured vocals (which chant the title of the album) are cut up and thrown back all over the
place. The drone comes in after 12 minutes and washes over everything, creating a fractured
version of nirvana.
The album continues in this vein for over an hour. The tracks flow together but the pace never
changes--it's fast and intense, and it makes me want to jump up and down and break things.
There is some really great fucked up studio stuff, where the mix gets all cut up and broken (as if
tape was spinning off the reel). It's sort of hard to listen to but that adds to the fun. The third
track builds with a steady drum beat under an ascending riff that's accented with bird noises and
echo. By the end of the track I'm hypnotized, induced into a trance that's better than what the
average No Neck record does to me.
The rock form is sort of like Neu!, only more fractured. Track 8 begins with some strange
singing and xylophone sounds before the wah-wahed wall of noise begins. This spacey drone is
perhaps the only mellow point of the album (along with the bonus track, where phased out
guitars ring in and out of sync like windshield wipers).
I cannot say how great this record is--unfortunately our review system only goes up to 12, so I
can't give it a 50. Hopefully I can see the Boredoms in concert before I die.
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