?Pink? is one of three Boris albums hatched in ?05, and it just may be the pick of litter. It comprises almost all the facets that make this trio one of the most exciting and unpredictable of all ?doom? bands. I use quotes because doom is just one style these guys and girl brush up against in their paranormal power trio investigations. Heavy metal, heavy psych, biker punk, proto punk, garage boogie, ambient sludge; any number of happening phrases can be tagged onto this demonstrative attack, but I?ll just stick with rock ?n? roll.

Opener ?Farewell? is a perfect example of the depth of this trio. Ambient feedback swirls and reverb-drenched backbeats propel a minimal melody that erupts magnificently into a thousand shards of glistening feedback Boris does this sort of thing so well, with soaring Japanese vocals climbing to the heavens across nearly eight minutes of wind-storm squalls and lumbering rhythms. Farewell, indeed. The next few tracks (?Pink,? ?Screen Girl,? ?There?s Nothing?) are super-charged fuzz punk screamers, especially the title cut with its galloping rhythms and acid-burnt solos serving as one of the finest anthems they?ve ever conjured.

The kids get the doom out with ?Blackout,? a phenomenal acid sludge bath with screeching feedback trills a la Skullflower raining down on the kind of throbbing riffs-o-doom that any Melvins obsessive will happily flail about his efficiency apartment to. ?Electric? is a stomping kraut-punk instrumental, while the downbeat ?Tepid Flame? is a worthy nod to Blue Cheer with its lumbering fuzz groove beneath phased vocals and handclaps. Album closer, ?I Just Threw Away,? is a ten minute fuzz punk blast that trails off on its own krautrock fumes, only to be engulfed in a distortion supernova before the abrupt cut.

?Pink? is no real surprise from Boris. This is, after all, a band that has recorded with Keiji Haino and Merzbow, issued a one track megalith LP long before it was the cool thing to do (as their debut, no less!), and regularly explore Frippian guitar symphonies on top of stomping crash-and-burn psych punk. They ain?t predictable. ?Pink? could be considered the pop album, but don?t head to Best Buy just yet. It?s currently only available as a pricy import. Hold out a few months and you can score it domestically from Southern Lord, and let?s hope the Lord?s packaging is as inspired as the Japanese version -- a translucent pink sleeve that comes with a sheet of blotter acid, one hit missing. Noice!
9/10 -- Lee Jackson (27 June, 2006)