On Jan. 21, Japanese experimental band Boris is releasing their new album W via Sacred Bones Records. In anticipation of the album release, the group recently shared its first single and music video for “Drowning By Numbers.” The video matches the eerie emptiness of the song, which begins with a counting whisper and short, rapid instrumental beats. About halfway through the song, the vocals cut out, and sirens and squishing noises enhance its surreal sound.
“This video was filmed at a private showcase with limited invitation in April of 2021,” Boris said of the video in a press release. “It is a collaborative performance with a contemporary dance team. The song was transformed from its original performance and visualized; a big hat dances symbolically at the beginning of the new album.”
In addition to releasing this album in 2022, the band is also set to perform at the Psycho Las Vegas festival alongside groups such as At the Gates, Katatonia, Wolves in the Throne Room, Elder and more. They’ve also become innovative with their performances: earlier this year, they shared 360 degree interactive livestream event, during which they shared their 2020 album No. Since this last album, the band has worked with Merzbow on the collaborative album 2R0I2P0, which as an “abrasive album that flirts with expressive soundscapes both harsh and beautiful in nature that are enveloped in noisy-as-hell electronics.” If “Drowning By Numbers” is a sign of what to expect from the rest of the album, the intensity of this noise is sure to be present on this album as well.
W Track Listing:
1. I Want to Go to the Side Where You Can Touch…
2. Icelina
3. Drowning by Numbers
4. Invitation
5. The Fallen
6. Beyond Good and Evil
7. Old Projector
8. You Will Know (Ohayo Version)
9. Jozan
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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