Album Review: Boris / Uniform - Bright New Disease
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
Pairing Japan’s sonic scientists with New York Industrial Noise merchants, Uniform, might seem to be slightly odd, but Boris have a long history of collaborations, be they with Merzbow, SunnO))) or any other suitable artist, whomsoever the trio decide is interesting enough to make music with.
Having only release three albums in 2022 – W, Heavy Rocks and Fade – Boris was overdue a new record and Bright New Disease is half an hour and nine tracks of either mind-blowing diversification or just what was expected, depending on your knowledge of the Boris back catalogue.
In many ways this album encapsulates everything that’s good about Boris, be it their collaborative spirit or their constant need to progress their art, Bright New Disease should be seen as a nine-course audio banquet, with no two servings the same.
Beginning with the Boris-penned You Are the Beginning, the record starts with a massive, meaty metal riff, crunching and howling guitar before morphing into a frenzied thrasher. Takeshi’s vocals have a distinct sound of Wattie from The Exploited, giving this opener an even more abrasive feel.
Weaponized Grief follows up on that UK82 idea by blending a raw and dirty punk D-beat with feedback; No, which has a cleaner production and a more modern sound, overlays dualling vocals with a faster tempo and a Death Metal style double bass kick.
Elsewhere, it’s as though Boris and Uniform are taking us on a journey through time. A Man From Earth has something of a Seventies glam feel to it and with what sounds like synthesised bagpipes at the conclusion; The Sinner of Hell (Jigoku) is built around repetitive synthwave hypnotism, darkly progressive and a tune that very much feels as though it was birthed with the Eighties in mind. Endless Death Agony brings us to the Nineties, with plenty of harsh, grinding guitar and an uncompromising solo, the sort of thing Helmet and Today Is the Day would be doing.
Those Synthwave noodles return for Narcotic Shadow, another anachronistic track that is very much at odds with Bright New Disease’s opening three songs.
The remainder of the album, The Look Is a Flame and Not Surprised take a turn for the slow and sludgy, with the former featuring a sustained chord and ominous cymbal hits, whilst ethereal choral vocals are at odds with the screaming, pained voice. Album closer, Not Surprised, is filled with Sabbath riffs and a slow, deliberate guitar, wringing the atmosphere out of the track as it drones and harrows in equal measure.
This collaboration between Boris and Uniform is seamless as there is no point on the record where ideas clash. Bright New Disease is a real treasure trove of a record and contains something for everyone, regardless of your musical proclivity.
