Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Trackmarks: Boris w. Michio Kurihara - "Sweet No. 1" from Rainbow

When the guitars and drums finally clash head-on, flashes of Hendrix virtually flood to the forefront, but Michio Kurihara (formally of White Heaven and Ghost, among others) and Wata don't stick to a particular influence or technique for very long.

At the outset, Michio dominates with an explosive guitar solo borne from a brief muted riff that sets both the tempo and prepares everyone involved for ignition. Wata waits patiently in the wings and then arrives in a flourish, about 1:50 in, sounding at first like a human voice, only to give way to Takeshi's vocals that follow :40 later.

The marriage of each guitar's tonal qualities is breathtaking. When they alternate turns, it is more than a simple hand-off - it is give and take - each one appearing to push further than the other. The solos are blistering, crashing in and careening on like buzzsaws cut loose from their axes. The track is Rainbow's climax, the final explosive vision of a power-packed union of one of hard(er) rock's finest bands and one of the most gifted guitarists on the planet.

The following track on the album, Rainbow's ninth and final cut, titled "...And I Want", simply allows the listener to return calmly to their mortal existence, return to their resting heart-rate. If listeners knows what's good for them, they start the cycle over, close their eyes and allow the aural hurricane of Rainobow to lift them once more towards the "Sweet No. 1" apex and out of the throes of all that is ordinary.

MP3: Boris w. Michio Kurihara - "Sweet No. 1"

 

Boris plays four times at SxSW:

3.15 (Thursday)
Stubbs BBQ
w/ Melvins, Pelican and The Panthers

3.16 (Friday)
Vice Party
w/ Earthless, Big Business, Fucked Up, CPC Gangbangs, Black Lips, Annihilation Time, Against Me! and more

3.16 (Friday)
Spiro's Eclipse SxSW Show
w/ Zoroaster, Noxagt, Mark D (sunno)))/Ex-Melvins) Super Sonic Festival Projections & special guest!

3.17 (Saturday)
SxSW Presents
Mastodon & Boris at the Town River Lake

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

...i have never digested something as violent as the guitar tone present after 3:30...but ive never tasted something that sweet either. im going to go change my boxers now