| The Boredoms - Super
Are |
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 The
first time I heard of The Boredoms was when I saw one of their
videos on the patchy MTV2, they wore balaclavas over their faces and
mirrored sunglasses and were making the most mind altering punk
racket I’d ever encountered. I didn’t know if they were great or
just not trying but I was impressed. The next time I heard of them
my brother had come over from London with their new record, Super
Are, tucked in his trendy rucksack. He put it on one Sunday morning
when I was feeling a little bit worse for the wear and it still
sounded amazing so I bought it the following week. And now, several
listens later, I’d have to say it’s one of the finest testaments
to sonic abandon that there’s ever been.
The inner sleeve and album cover consists of little more than felt
tip drawings that have an almost occupational therapy-like nature to
them, there is no track listing or Thank You’s from the band to
God or whoever which gives the whole thing a mysterious and egoless
air. So the record begins with what seems like the longest intro/outro
of all time, a barrelling drum roll underscores two pummelling
guitar chords for a good seven minutes, until eventually you realise
this is the first track, when it ends and goes into track two….
The music is randomly speeded up and flipped around from then on and
there follows a further hour of sonics which will cause adrenalin,
endorphines and any other form of thrill juice your body can pump
out to course through all areas. Because The Boredoms – Super Are
is a killer record that cuts the posturing and ego stroking out of
the thousand useless bands out there and feeds it back to them as
cool as lava. The music rushes from headlong minimal monster rock
guitar pounding to laid back acoustic loops with occasional
electronic spasms. The vocal is reminiscent of Damo Suzuki of
Can’s style, almost-words and almost-melodies expressed sometimes
as pure rhythm and others as pure dissonance, and fits perfectly
with the confusion and wildness of the music. This record floors me
every time I listen to it now. And when it’s over I usually just
want to hit play and listen to it again. Which is just about the
highest thing you can say about any release.
So go out, buy this record and play it until the laser burns out on
your CD player. Or until your felt tips run dry.
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Rating: 9 out of
10
Reviewed by Gordon Peppard
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