Dear is the twenty-fourth studio album by Japanese experimental band Boris. Released on 14 July 2017 through Sargent House record label, it marks the band's 25th anniversary. The music video for the track "Absolutego", which shares its title with the band's 1996 debut, was also released in May 2017.[1]
| Dear | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 12, 2017 (Japan) July 14, 2017 (International) | |||
| Recorded | 2017 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 93:06 (Daymare 2CD) 69:06 (Southern Lord CD) | |||
| Label | Sargent House, Daymare Recordings | |||
| Producer | Boris | |||
| Boris chronology | ||||
| ||||
Dear was originally planned as a farewell album. Nevertheless, its sessions produced three albums' worth of material: ten tracks were cut for the record and the rest were reserved for future releases.[2]
Composition
editWith Dear, Boris craft "straight-down-the-line" doom / stoner rock and "protracted" drone metal.[3][4] Their sludge heritage also returns.[5]
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 78/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The A.V. Club | B−[7] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[8] |
| Loud and Quiet | 6/10[3] |
| Paste | 6.9/10[4] |
| PopMatters | 7/10[5] |
Upon its release, Dear received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 78, which indicates "generally positive reviews", based on 14 reviews.[6] AllMusic critic Thom Jurek wrote: "On Dear, Boris again prove their mettle as rock leviathans." Jurek further described the record as a "proof positive that this trio are far from running on empty."[2] The A.V. Club's A.A. Dowd stated: "Even doom fanatics may yearn for a more consistent track list; one drawback to churning out new records at this frequency is that the output can be uneven, mixing the transcendent with the forgettable."[7] Matthew Ritchie of Exclaim! commented: "If you dig deep enough, it's an album filled with surprises from a band that continue to impress."[8]
Track listing
editDaymare 2CD
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "D.O.W.N. -Domination of Waiting Noise-" | 6:05 |
| 2. | "詩" ("DEADSONG") | 6:42 |
| 3. | "絶対自我" ("Absolutego") | 4:55 |
| 4. | "かのひと" ("Beyond") | 6:39 |
| 5. | "蜉蝣" ("Kagero") | 5:34 |
| 6. | "ビオトープ" ("Biotope") | 5:32 |
| 7. | "The Power" | 7:40 |
| 8. | "Memento Mori" | 4:48 |
| 9. | "何処へ" ("Dystopia -Vanishing Point-") | 11:51 |
| 10. | "Dear" | 9:23 |
| Total length: | 69:06 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "More" | 7:17 |
| 2. | "Evil Perspective" | 7:01 |
| 3. | "D.O.W.N -Domination of Waiting Noise-" (Full version) | 9:42 |
| Total length: | 24:00 | |
Sargent House CD
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "D.O.W.N. -Domination of Waiting Noise-" | 6:05 |
| 2. | "DEADSONG" (詩) | 6:42 |
| 3. | "Absolutego" (絶対自我) | 4:55 |
| 4. | "Beyond" (かのひと) | 6:39 |
| 5. | "Kagero" (蜉蝣) | 5:34 |
| 6. | "Biotope" (ビオトープ) | 5:32 |
| 7. | "The Power" | 7:40 |
| 8. | "Memento Mori" | 4:48 |
| 9. | "Dystopia -Vanishing Point-" (何処へ) | 11:51 |
| 10. | "Dear" | 9:23 |
| Total length: | 69:06 | |
Personnel
editBoris
- Takeshi – bass, guitar, vocals
- Wata – guitar, vocals, effects, echo
- Atsuo – drums, vocals
References
edit- ^ Gaca, Anna (9 May 2017). "Boris Announce 23rd Studio Album Dear, Release "Absolutego" Video". Spin. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ a b c Jurek, Thom. "Dear - Boris". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ a b Glen, Patrick (July 13, 2017). "Boris - Dear - Album review - Loud And Quiet". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
- ^ a b Bryan, Beverly (July 17, 2017). "Boris: Dear Review - Paste". Paste. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
- ^ a b Stasis, Spyros (July 26, 2017). "Boris: Dear | PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ a b "Boris - Dear". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ a b Dowd, A.A. (14 July 2017). "Japanese Breakfast, The Dears, Sheer Mag, and more in this week's music reviews". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ a b Ritchie, Matthew (13 July 2017). "Boris - Dear". Exclaim!. Retrieved 15 July 2017.