SUPER Æ

The transitional album.

Whether you like it or not the Boredoms universe will never be the same again since the release of this album. The zany noise rock of their early years is no more and now they take their avant-prog from an over-the-top weirdness to a repetitive, tribal and psychedelic approach. Its even hard to notice that they are the same band that made Pop Tatari, but for better or worse the new Boredoms are here to stay.

The mayor influence in this new sound is taken from the Krautrock genre and the mayor characteristics of it is the motorik grooves and the sonic (or psychedelic) feel around it. Yamatsuka Eye while still being the main vocalist in this album he also uses many electronic sounds that is the cream of their sound from here onward. The rest of the band work perfectly as a unit to create some very interesting and energetic rhythm sections that will stay in your head for days to come.

The songs revolve around a simple beat and everything else is created around it. There isn't much of a variety in the songs like in their early years and this can be a bad thing for you, but if you're used to repetition and enjoy bands like Neu! or songs like Can's Halleluwah then you'll feel right at home. There are also songs that still echoes Boredoms in their early years like "Super Coming" and "Super Are You" (by the way all of the songs have "Super" in their title) with the former sounding like the overtly-pompous (in a good way) "Acid Police" from their Chocolate Synthesizers and the later sounding very similar to their Pop Tatari songs. The problem with this album is that while there are some interesting parts and great rhythms, there are also parts that could be better left off. Also that the album starts to pick some steam after 15 minutes into the album. While the first 2 songs may be great, within the context of the rest of the album they fall short.

While still being a transitional album of sorts they don't get it right the first time. Their follow up, Vision Creation Newsun, will be an improvement adding more interesting rhythm sections and even more trippy sound effects. This album, as opposed to the ones prior to this release, will be better suited for krautrock or even Zeuhl fans or to rephrase that for people who enjoy repetition, minimalism and drug influenced music. While still being an avant-garde band they don't have the characteristics that people normally relate to the avant-prog genre. You'd be surprise how accessible this album is.

Rating: A-

Boredoms rank up with Talk Talk (among others) as having made one of the most dramatic shifts in sound across their careers. From their early noise rock pioneering days of banging on whatever they could reach, screaming maniacally, and somehow remaining astoundingly listenable to their more recent "blissout" albums (for lack of a better word), Boredoms have always been one of the most engaging, relevant bands in modern music, and perhaps Japan's greatest contribution to the music world.

To prolong the Talk Talk comparison just a moment longer, Boredoms, like Talk Talk, got better after their shift. Talk Talk moved from awesome synth pop (their first three albums) to sublime, perfect post-rock masterpieces (their latter two albums). Boredoms, in recreating Krautrock on such albums as Vision Creation Newsun and the more pertinent (to this review) Super Ae, have shown themselves far more mature than when they were the best noise rock band the world had ever seen. In addition, they are far more listenable, especially to those not prepared for the mind-exploding onslaught of Pop Tatari.

More than that, though, their latter period captures them at their best musically. Their earlier records had the tendency to wander around and feel somewhat incohesive at times, but that's not at all the case on Super Ae (or Vision Creation Newsun). From start to finish, this album not only lacks any hints of dullness or meandering, it comes together as a single, unified whole. It's hard to imagine "Super Are", where the Krautrock elements first start taking shape, without the fuzzy guitars "Super You" preceding it. Of course, part of why this album is so good is that every track is a winner. The simultaneously manic and mantra-like chants of "Super Are You" perfectly embody the wild and yet captivating, trance-inducing sound Boredoms have adopted. The fantastic groove of "Super Coming" could hold its own against any Can groove of old, and the eclectic, noisy "Super Shine", well, shines.

The absolute highlight of this album, though, and perhaps the pinnacle of Boredoms' long and illustrious career, is the glorious "Super Going". Driven by a relentless drum groove with noisy guitar outbursts that form the perfect atmosphere, "Super Going" embodies all the ideals of the Krautrock greats, but in a far more structured setting than the extended jams of Can and Amon Duul II. In many senses, it's Boredoms' answer to NEU!'s "Hallogallo". Similarly drum driven (and of similar length), "Super Going" doesn't evoke the lazy pastures of "Hallogallo", but, with similar musical aesthetics as "Hallogallo", captures the essence of running without stopping for anyone or anything, just running until drenched in sweat and collapsed from exhaustion.

And that's really what Super Ae is: a marathon that's both taxing and invigorating, that provides an adrenaline rush that keeps you going until the end, and that is undeniably satisfying. I honestly don't know what to call it. It's not Krautrock (and not just because Boredoms' are Japanese, not German); it just doesn't *sound* like Can, NEU!, Faust, or Amon Duul II. I've toyed with calling it "blissout" music, and that certainly captures the experience of listening to it, but unfortunately the sound. To some extent, I suppose "space punk" would fit, though that still doesn't seem right. Whatever it is, though, it is Boredoms at their very best (alongside Vision Creation Newsun), and Boredoms at their best is just about music at its best. Absolutely, undeniably essential.

The situation in the 90's was really time when a certain kind of various music was digested, extended, and was saturated for Prog Rock Scene of Japan. It is limited to obtain the right that Prog Rock of Japan, music from foreign countries influences, and Prog Rock comes into the market now. Especially, to obtain the citizenship of music, musicians of independent production still take an active part very much. However, it did not limit it to Japan to say nothing of the musician who did the effort to expand the place of the activity there.

Work to dismantle the music of the tradition that exists originally in the market of Prog Rock of Japan and the culture and to restructure is really serious. However, Prog Rock after techno and Punk Rock are passed in the music of Japan after the 80's has rapidly really changed the appearance. Prog Rock of Japan that absorbed the element of various music will have the flow that distributes the power to keep to the outside with the state of saturation when rushing into in the 90's.

Some bands that digest various elements and do them experimentally exist, too and they are accompanied by a minority listener and there is an expanded fact though a lot of bands that establish some genre exist in Japan. The genre that is called "Mixture Rock" as a word of the genre that exists only in Japan exists. This word is a word used well in Japan. That is, various elements are combined, they are calculated, and it is intentional. Or, it is guessed that it is a flow of the music experimentally done. It is not a translation that the word applies to all of course. And, it is guessed that this boredoms has not gotten on those main currents now either.

The use of various music and the sounds can be felt if it listens to the flow as music at which they aim. There was a work that gave some chaotic impressions for their initial works, too. And, the aspect of each work was presented and the "Super Roots" series that was able to be called their lifeworks was offered to the listener.

The some kind of force always existed in the music character at which they were aiming after Yamathuka Eye of the person at the center of the band had formed Boredoms. The "Super Roots" series also that is the stage of their experiments gradually increases the perfection in parallel with the activity of the band. They change the flow little by little. Or, after the band is formed, the music boldly calculated is gradually acknowledged to a listener in Japan and an overseas listener. The flow has changed from a chaotic impression initial of them to the conviction. It is "7" or this album of "Super Roots" that forms the music character of Boredoms in recent years. mightThe opinion of the listener in Japan is numerous the fan that loves work at some initial works or these time. The element of techno shown by "Super Roots 7" and minimal music might pair with this album.

They are a bold calculations and various music in the music that they achieved with this album. Or, the unreal world is formed. It might be difficult to specify the genre. It is an experimental part in this. Or, techno. Minimal. Hardcore. The element of Zeuhl is blocked enough. However, they exist a loose impression is never given but enough in the album as one space. The impression with power such as Can and This Heat is expressed and they are expressing an original interpretation of Japan having it. Musical, of be expressed in the drifting space a kind of dash feeling might capture the listener enough. Boredoms might be a band in the field of Avant-Prog of Japan that exists very much at the position of the exception of course now.

I had gotten enough familiarity with OOIOO to the point where it was time for that dreaded moment in meeting the father, Boredoms. Actually, I had been looking forward to hearing this group as OOIOO overwhelmed me with its eclectic take on indie rock, and I figured that Boredoms is sculpted in a similar fashion. That is essentially what I got from listening to SUPER AE, except that Boredoms is less sane.

The best tag that could be applied to Boredoms here is noise rock, aka the kind of music that Sonic Youth was pioneering in the 80's. But don't think of this band as any kind of Sonic Youth clone; there's more to them than noise rock. It appears they have equal amounts of influence from, of all bands, Black Sabbath, particularly the opening riff in ''Super You''. Also, the amount of Krautrock influence is apparent on the song ''Super Going'' as the beat is essentially that Motorik kind that NEU! is best known for.

The best thing about SUPER AE is that the music sounds like it writes itself. You can feel that each of the super songs (it's a running gag throughout the album) is based out of group jamming, but these jams aren't ones that come and go out of nowhere. There's buildup and suspense in ''Super Shine'' that feels slightly conducted, and the separate ideas in ''Super Are You'' have clever segues between them to the point where the psychedelic jam at the end was worth getting to. Each of the twelve minute numbers are orchestrated beautifully to the point where they all have addicting rhythms, but there are moments where the band can take a pause to let the listener catch their breath for a few seconds. And over the top of all the structured jams is one Yamantaka Eye, the mastermind of the outfit and lunatic vocalist that sounds like Damo Suzuki after a caffeine binge.

This is a fantastic indie/noise/neo-Krautrock jam-filled album that knows how to catch the listener's attention. I throw Krautrock in the tagging because I feel Eye and company understand a little bit about that movement to influence them, yet added more modern influences (e.g. Sonic Youth) to freshen the sound up a bit. SUPER AE is just super fun.

Cannot follow such an explosive avantgarde noises, freaky melodies, and kaleidoscopic development emitted out mainly by Eye YAMATSUKA. Not only we Japanese but also all of avantgarde rock fans should not forget their existence in late 20th century. Based upon Eye's electronic sense and violent artistic antithesis against monotonous, uninteresting art scene in those days (his Hanatarash days), they launch variation of auditory essence one after another. His creativity flooded with weird electronic noises or queers can easily remind me of sorta similarity to Krautrock ... especially danceable but sadistically repetitive heavy rock phrases mainly created with guitars, drums, percussion and quirky electronika behind them, in the third track 'Super Going' or the following 'Super Coming'.

We might mention such an act drenched in colourful musical (but also nonmusical, basically not touched in music world at all) cannot be flexibly heard (I guess it would make sense if you listen to the first 'Super You' full of nonsense electronic convolution or the second one 'Super Are' featuring ambient gentleness in the former part and cynical tribalism in the latter). On the other hand, there is a strict historical fact or background they were appreciated in 90s pop / rock scene (their material can be heard in a worldwide popular rock compilation Wow 2). Suggest they (including also Eye) would have looked straightly into 80-90s popular rock scene and adopt pop essence and shoot it out here and there, regardless of their innovative, intriguing artistic basis (such a positive attitude cannot be seen in Hanatarash days). In their creation are quite a little hilarious material with mischievous, unimaginable sound footprints, that could have been acceptable for every rock fan, methinks.

Mentioned again, their massive potential and gigantic existence cannot be forgotten eternally.