Review Summary: Like Being caught in a tornado with drums whirling by your head... And loving every second of it! The Boredoms are fucking crazy...
The Boredoms are ***ing crazy! Thats a prerequisite that one must understand before attempting to enjoy almost any of the albums in the boredoms prolific back catalog. Super Roots 5 is no exception. In fact this might be the most out there thing that they have ever released! This is the fourth entry in the, completely off the wall Super Roots series that the Boredoms put out in between albums. Your probably thinking
super roots 5... and counting to yourself.. Don't worry, there is no number four; because the Japanese are insane.
Things start off predictably enough, with eYe's heavily processed, incoherent babbling over some light cymbal work. Its all very tranquil and quiet. Until eYe calls on a maelstrom of cymbal crashes and feedback guitar. GOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! he cries, like a mistro gone completely mad. And boy do they go ! No Melody, no rhyme, no reason, Just a brick wall of noise crashing down on your head.
Like most later-era Boredoms records, this one is heavy on the post production and electronics. Yamamoto's Feedback drenched guitar is so over processed and run through so many effects that its hardly even recognizable. Along with eYe's Electronics, Hosoi's droning bass, and Yoshimi P-We's manic cymbal crashes, They manage to create a tidal wave of sound so dense and noisy that it will swallow all other sounds that might be happening around you. They create an almost perfect song to trance out to,and just get swept away in.
This album is not without its faults though. The production is a little underpowered. The bass could really use a much stronger presence on this album, as its only really audible, and distinguishable during the couple breaks the rest of the band takes from the chaos. And without headphones on some of the crazy stereo panning effects might be lost on listeners. Also time might be a factor for some, a lot of people might find it difficult to sit through this 65 minute Trance/Noise Juggernaut, as the song stays largely the same for most of its duration.
If you have never listened to the boredoms, this isn't a very good place to start. Its stuck in between the Avant-noise/psych/punk/art/mind*** style of early boredoms records. And the near perfect psychedelia of later records. But I for one love it, and cant recommend this enough to adventurous listeners out there !
