It’s a 40 minute song... but hear me out: it's a worthwhile hoot-and-a-half. At no point does this song even come close to sounding tedious. I played this in the background as I argued with my girlfriend, touching on subjects like ethics, feminism, and Abrahamic faiths… and what those schools of thoughts have to say about hentai. I’m not into hentai, but I am curious about what the ethical, the feminists, and the religious have to say about the matter. Is it a "porn loophole" of sorts? You're still watching nudity and lusting over out-of-wedlock fornication, but it
is animated; not real. Is hentai as offensive to women as live-action pornography? What are the psychosexual ramifications if the religious were to consume hentai? I think these are fair questions.
Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because as I was typing an essay to my girlfriend, arguing for why I’m still worth dating despite my philosophical curiosities, I stopped for a moment to admire just how unbelievably good this song is. Right around the 18 minute mark, this song rises to a spectacular peak. One of many by the way, and it’s not even the song's apex. Yes, it's
that good... in my opinion. Obviously, you be the judge. But let me tell ya, pal: This is as good as noisy, Japanese, Krautrock-adjacent/post-punk-adjacent, “I like Faust and This Heat” — or in today’s terms — “I like Black Midi”…. type of music gets. In other words, It’s a Boredoms release.
It’s got a grandiose, “high brow” psychedelic attitude. It's quasi-"spiritual" music that utilizes art-hoe theatrics mixed with straight-up spectacular krautrock/D&B-style drumming. It’s sort of the kind of sound The Flaming Lips would attempt a few years later with
Embryonic, but Boredoms’ American colleagues, like Swans, are really the only ones who sound like true kindred spirits, at least from an American (and by that I mean
my perspective). Right down to the atmospheric build-ups, drones, "tribal ritual" energy and drumming. I still need a deeper dive into this Japanese noise-adjacent art rock scene. To those that are familiar with their Western counterparts and influences, and you loved the tribal worshiping in
The Seer, but somehow wished it matched Black Midi’s proggy hyperactivity… this is for you.
