Boredoms
Super Roots 10 EP
Thrill Jockey
Oct 22, 2009 Web Exclusive
Super Roots 10 was released by Boredoms in early 2009, quickly selling out despite being completely unexpected and arriving without warning. For those who weren’t quick enough to purchase one of the original run or who haven’t snatched the record off a file sharing site in the last nine months, a U.S. version has now been released by Thrill Jockey. Essentially one song with several remixes, Super Roots 10 opens with a quiet low-frequency rumble (“Super Rooy”) before launching into the meat of the EP.
“Ant 10” is a nine-and-a-half-minute psychedelic drum circle and the source material for the rest of the EP. This is the same formula the band has followed for several years: infinitely layered percussion forming a foundation to pile keyboard arpeggios and repetitive hypnosis-inducing elements upon. Yamantaka Eye, the closest thing the band has to a “leader,” sounds ebullient as ever chanting and shouting over the pulse.
Two remixes on the album are by Japanese producer Altz, “Estereo 10” and “Mineral Dub Break,” and one is by DJ Finger Hat—who I know nothing about, but who I will award Best DJ Name of the Year to. All three stay close to familiar remix territory; a modified bass line emerges, the drums are given four-on-the-floor house treatment, and the vocals are chopped, stretched, and pitch-shifted. While no new ground is broken, either by Boredoms, Altz, or Finger Hat (I’m guessing it’s Eye), this stuff is mesmerizing and exciting to listen to, a crossroads of prog rock and trance.
The anomaly on the album is a remix by Lindstrøm. Here, Boredoms disappear almost completely, painted over by Lindstrøm’s space disco treatment. The bass line that comes together mid-way through the 10-minute track could have come right off a Stevie Wonder album. While it is a hot, funky track, it doesn’t fit in with the rest of the EP. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as it could use a little breathing room. (www.boredoms.jp)
Author rating: 6/10
Average reader rating: 8/10
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