Melting minds on a nightly basis gets tiring after 25 years, and so Japanese drone rockers Boris were planning to pack it in after recording one last album earlier this year. Instead, they found their creativity renewed by writing what was supposed to be their farewell album—so refreshed, they recorded three albums’ worth of material during the album sessions. Those sessions were pared down to 10 tracks for the band’s 22nd album, Dear, due out July 14 via Sargent House.
Boris describes the sound of Dear as “heavenly—far beyond heavy,” a description that fits the new single from the album, “Memento Mori.” The vocals are ethereal, all right, but the chords emanating from guitarists Wata and Takeshi Ohtani are as heavy as a boulder topping over a cliff and landing on Atsuo Mizuno’s slow, steady drumbeat. A string arrangement and whispered vocals lift the song back towards the heavens towards the clouds, but it’s clear that Boris will always put the “heavy” in “heavenly.”
You can hear “Memento Mori” below, as well as check out a whole mess of fall North American tour dates with the likes of Torche and Mutoid Man the band also announced today.
BORIS – ON TOUR:
October 3—Fresno, CA—Strummers *
October 4—Sacramento, CA—Harlow’s *
October 6—Eugene, OR—WOW Hall ^
October 7—Seattle, WA—Neumo’s ^
October 8—Vancouver, BC—Rickshaw Theatre ^
October 9—Portland, OR—Doug Fir Lounge ^
October 11—San Francisco, CA—The Independent ^
October 12-14—Joshua Tree, CA—Institute of Mentalphysics (Desert Daze Fest)
October 14—Tucson, AZ—191 Toole %
October 16—Salt Lake City, UT—Metro Music Hall %
October 17—Denver, CO—Bluebird Theater %
October 19—Lawrence, KS—Granada Theatre %
October 20—Omaha, NE—The Waiting Room %
October 21—Minneapolis, MN—Triple Rock Social Club +
October 22—Milwaukee, WI—Turner Hall +
October 23—Chicago, IL—Thalia Hall +
October 25—Detroit, MI—El Club +
October 26—Cleveland, OH—Grog Shop +
October 27—Millvale, PA—Mr Smalls +
October 28—Philadelphia, PA—Union Transfer +
October 29—Baltimore, MD—Rams Head Live! (Days of Darkness)
October 31—Allston, MA—Brighton Music Hall =
November 1—Brooklyn, NY—Warsaw =
November 4—Durham, NC—Motorco =
November 5—Knoxville, TN—The Concourse =
November 7—Atlanta, GA—The Masquerade, Hell Stage =
November 8—Nashville, TN—Exit / In =
November 9—Birmingham, AL—Saturn $
November 10—New Orleans, LA—One Eyed Jacks $
November 10-12—McDade, TX—Sound on Sound Fest
November 14—Albuquerque, NM—Sister +
November 15—Phoenix, AZ—Crescent Ballroom #
November 17—San Diego, CA—Casbah #
* w/ Endon
^ w/ Sumac, Endon
% w/ Subrosa, Endon
+ w/ Helms Alee, Endon
= w/ Mutoid Man, Endon
$ w/ Thou, Endon
# w/ Torche, Endon