boris

Japanese heavy rock pioneers Boris are joining forces with J-Rock legend Kiyoharu for a 2024 Australian tour billed as "Heavy Rock Breakfast".

Boris are known for their relentless pursuit of sonic excellence in heavy rock. The four-piece Boris line-up of Takeshi, Wata, Atsuo and drummer Osamu are playing the Golden Plains Festival in Victoria and the Ωhm Festival in Brisbane, as well as headlining shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Fremantle.

_{Boris in full flight (with Merzbow lurking far left).}

"The Molly Fet Circuit Catches Boris at the Adelaide Festival"
Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide
Thursday, February 26, 2026

By Shaun C. Duncan
(with photos and intrusions by Robert Brokenmouth)

It must have been satisfying to curate an arts festival back in the bad old days when luvvies held the whip hand, when they could simply TELL the great unwashed what was good - and damn them if they didn’t agree.

Indeed, the fact that no-one showed up to see your revisionist production of “A Doll’s House”, performed by an all-female troupe of Inuit puppeteers was proof of its worth because we all know the plebs are ignorant slobs anyway. 

Better yet, if the proles complained that you’re wasting taxpayers money, then you could dine out for weeks on your coveted status of being “controversial” because we all know the point of ART is to offend the sensibilities of those footing the bill for it. 

[Brokenmouth interjects: my understanding was that in the earlier years of the Festival (and Fringe) the events were usually packed... but, by the mid-80s there was definitely a "here come the Festival 'controversies'" ritual - controversies over things which wouldn't be controversial without 'The Agoniser' telling us they were controversial.]

[Shaun continues]:

I’m sure it was a good grift while it lasted, but the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and the era of austerity changed all that: bums on seats became the order of the day and the festivals have been forced to cast their nets a little wider – not TOO wide, mind you – in search of people who will actually PAY for culture, and in this day and age there’s virtually one demographic left: middle-aged record snobs. 

Well, Boris in Adelaide on Sunday night were brilliant. Who are they?

Boris have been around since 1992, put out their first CD ‘single’ in ‘96, and have released 23 more LPs of their own songs (including three this year, and two last year) and 12 collaborative LPs, not including three collections of rarities and live material. They’re not huge in their home country of Japan, or indeed anywhere else, really. But those who know them cannot get enough and are total addicts. 

I first heard them in 1996, when a mate, Paul, came back from Japan with “Absolutego”, put the bastard on and left it playing. After 45 minutes, and my third “Paul, which track is this..?” I got the same answer: “Oh, still the first one.” I demanded to see the disc. The song went for over an hour, and was (and is) fabulous. Lots of changes, altered states, tempo alterations…the lot. It’s like a long LP which keeps returning to its central theme which, not speaking Japanese, I have no idea of whatsoever. But you keep returning to it.

LØVE & EVØL - Boris (Third Man Records) 
Invisible You - JP Shilo (Ghost Train Records) 
Fortuna Horribilis - Vomit of the Universe (The Artist)

ANTI-RAMONES WARNING: NO BORIS SONG UNDER 3.5 MINUTES.

Grayson Haver Currin of Pitchfork comments on the latest alvum from Japan's venerable trio Boris:

“These seven anemic songs find Boris becoming something new yet again - self-satisfied.”

Eric Carr, of the same magazine (ED: Isn't he in KISS?), commented retrospectively on Sonic Youth's LP “EVOL” in 2002:

“EVOL would mark the true departure point of Sonic Youth’s musical evolution - in measured increments, Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo began to bring form to the formless, tune to the tuneless, and with the help of Steve Shelley’s drums, they imposed melody and composition on their trademark dissonance. A breathtaking fusion of avant-garde noise (as far as Rock was concerned) and brilliant, propulsive rock... this is where the seeds of greatness were sown.”

I think it's a fair bet that Boris are nodding at Sonic Youth's "EVOL" LP here; in 1992, on their first CD - a 60+minuter comprising only one song, “Absolutego” - they scribbled their influences - including Sonic Youth, a band whose first four records I bought and loved. 

_{Photo by Greg Walsh of Grinda Pics}

If they paid musicians retrospectively for being ahead of their time, iconic Australian drummer James Baker would be a billionaire. Picture his teen years growing up in The World’s Most Isolated Capital City (that’d be Perth) at the far end of Australia (that’s Western Australia.)

 _{Boris and Merzbow. Artist supplied.}

Just quickly, do you like Pulp? Jarvis Cocker do it for you? Lovely. Pulp will be playing for free at Elder Park, as part of the Adelaide Festival (AF), and those with the 1990s in their souls will, I'm sure, be in attendance. Many, of course, will simply go because it's a big gig, it's free, and they're curious.

If you were going to see Pulp out of curiosity, might I suggest you spend money and choose a more interesting and likely worthwhile bunch of gigs?

The Adelaide Festival runs from 27 February to 15 March and, as a rule, there's very little for most folks. Why? Well, partly it's that not everyone is into culture and investigating same. Yes, it's down to taste generally, and there's only a few things you can do about that.

I mean, the sporty sorts have to be catered for, of course, but they have it all their own way for months, what with cricket, tennis and Olympic stuff cluttering up the telly (which, of course, I no longer watch).