Boris & Growing - ULU, London - 24/4/08
4/5
By: Charlie Potter
It's been four long years since I last saw Growing, and quite a few things have changed since then. When I caught them last, they were still creating huge, floating layers of distorted guitar noise. I remember seeing one of the Growing chaps after the show and saying how the set made me feel really comfortable and glad to be in that room even though I wasn't necessarily concentrating particularly hard on what was actually happening on stage. At the time, it felt like a hugely pretentious thing to say, but it was something I felt said a lot about their music. Luckily, far from being deeply insulted, the guy was really chuffed and said that that is exactly what they try to achieve. Overall the band aim less for Sunn O))) and more for Eno (I know you're not supposed to pronounce the 'o' in Sunn O))), but let's just imagine you do for the sake of my witty little quip).
Growing's sound is now much less characterised by one big solid drone, and much more by that trick that Black Dice use. I'm not sure how they do it, but it basically involves using a whole lot of pedals to rhythmically dip the sound out on the guitar, so what you get is sort of a drone but one that is being piped into a rhythm. And the effect is surprisingly pleasant; this is indeed something that has characterised Growing's records since Color Wheel.
And so after all that the effect is relatively similar - it's a very peaceful, enticing drone that Growing creates. There's a calm feeling at ULU this evening, one that can be studied and scrutinised with enough to keep you entertained, or one that you could enjoy as a fantastic background ambience if it weren't for the fact it is so incredibly loud this evening. Shows being too loud is a massive pet hate of mine - you should never have to come away from a show after being at a moderate distance from the stage with your ears damaged.
That aside, if you haven't seen Growing then they are well worth it next time they're around. They are all about the sound that they create, one that is totally unique and comforting.
Biker hopes. Biker angst. Biker dreams. Peace. Boris.
The band (fronted by Nick Drake) inevitably start with 'Flower Sun Rain' the first track off'a their new album Smile. Personally I have to say I find this track a little tedious on record, and indeed this side of Boris is the side I enjoy the least, but this being my first time seeing them live, it really works in this context. Boris are total psych-rock hippies, and they really mean this stuff. Why did I not see this before?
I guess it's probably because I still think of Boris as the band that made Amplifier Worship, but so much has changed throughout the great many releases they have given us. It is at the point of the massive guitar solo in Flower Sun Rain that you see just why they do it - it's very much a huge, emotional, at one with nature kinda thing, and you are either going to go with it or not. Personally, I'm still not sure the endless verses are all that necessary, but it acts as a brilliant teaser for what is to come.
And what better way to follow what is essentially a power ballad than with a power rock out? One after the other, the band line up chugging punk rock riff compositions (which incidentally make Smile well worth hearing), and combined with the hippie aesthetic this gives the set an intensely seventies biker rock feel, the sort of feeling that makes you think 'yeah, maybe Easy Rider is the film it's cracked up to be' (it's not by the way - it's just OK).
After the initial excitement of the riff pounding you start to listen more carefully. And after a while of intense focusing, Boris begin to work away on you until the corners of your mouth slowly fold upwards. Seeing them live, it becomes completely apparent why they have done so many collaborations with Merzbow; there is a huge low rumble present throughout the set, you can only really hear the instruments over the top of this, but you can hear them and that seems to be enough where Boris are concerned.
Before the end of the set the band take numerous trips back through power ballad territory but with a much more heavy rock approach. Here you can occasionally hear the low rumble change key. As is so often the case with heavy rock live performances, it's by this point that the drummer is providing a great deal of the entertainment. He's clearly an exceptional musician, with his huge down tuned snare drum and flam attacks it is fair to say that he owes a fair amount to Dale Crover, but then so many drummers do.
By the end of the set Boris have taken you through a comfortable yet wide array of sounds whilst always maintaining silly amounts of power and a great deal of noise to go with it. They're a much more fun band live than you might expect.
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