Boris- Japanese Heavy Rock Hits Vols. 1–4

Throughout the last several months of 2009, Boris put out four 7" vinyl singles that somehow showed them experimenting more with their music than before. The freedom of the medium sparked some creative outputs, and the results are unsurprisingly vintage Boris. Vol. 1 kicks off with the epic rocker "8," a blazing number that could have seemingly been plucked from yesteryear's anime hit. It still has that Heavy Rocks edge in a way, so there's definitely no misled presumptions of what the single collection offers. "Hey Everyone" may be the more unorthodox of the two, boasting a party banging beat and drunken vocal chants.

Boris took the opportunity to display their fun side with these singles without being constricted by the wild concepts of previous endeavors like Flood and Feedbacker. On Vol. 2, it's made clear by even the title of "H.M.A. -Heavy Metal Addict-" as much as the song itself. Led into the groove by the rare appearance of synthesizers, echoing yelps and chugging guitar growls propel the track through five minutes but doesn't seem to go anywhere. Fortunately "Black Original" makes up for the lackluster rocker with its '80s new wave-inspired sentiment. Remember the Psychedelic Furs? Me either, but if they were Japanese and (presumably) not hung up with cheesy love songs, it might have sounded something like this. It's certainly a treat to hear harmonizing vocals in Boris's music...

...just as much as it is to hear lead guitarist Wata perform vocals herself. The post-rock "16:47:52..." of Vol. 3—reminiscent to the quieter moments of Flood—moves along at a very contemplative pace while Wata sings ever-so-softly, as if whispering inches away from your ear. Of course it's in Japanese, leaving most listeners in the dark on what the song means. "...And Hear Nothing" keeps on the crawling tempo but amps up the grandiosity with an anthemic quality akin to Pink's "Farewell," complete with the trademark droning feedback we've come to love from our Japanese trio.

The fourth and final single was released this month in December, although without a cover sleeve, any accompanying artwork and only only features one song rather than two. The band covers an upbeat '70s oldie called "Seasons," originally by a Dutch progressive rock group called Earth and Fire. Wata makes yet another appearance on lead vocals, but in an almost adorable manner when her Japanese accent drives the English-spoken lyrics. It's a substantial finish to the singles tetralogy and leaves Boris as eclectic as ever, while fans are left wondering what the band could possibly experiment in next.