Boris have announced a new album, W, arriving January 21st via Sacred Bones. The acclaimed Japanese trio also unveiled the lead single “Drowning by Numbers.”
Singer and multi-instrumentalist Wata handles the lead vocals on W, which follows 2020’s NO to sequentially create the word “NOW.” Boris even ended NO with a track entitled “Interlude” to further bridge the two works.
According to the album press announcement, W will see Boris experimenting in styles ranging from new age to noise. The first offering “Drowning by Numbers” leans toward the latter, as Wata’s voice peeks through a haze of freeform feedback and clattering tribal percussion. A black-and-white performance art clip accompanies the new song.
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“This video was filmed at a private showcase with limited invitation in April of 2021,” the band commented via press release. “It is a collaborative performance with a contemporary dance team. The song was transformed from its original performance and visualized; a big hat dances symbolically at the beginning of the new album.”
That explains the remarkably oversized hat Wata is seen wearing in the W press photos. It appears the enigmatic musician is set to take centerstage on the new album after playing a primarily musical role for the more punk/thrash leanings of NO.
Wata also recently unveiled her own signature fuzz pedal, “Hizumitas” — a collaboration with EarthQuaker Devices. You can pre-order W and snag an exclusive limited color variant of the “Hizumitas” pedal via Sacred Bones.
Watch the video for “Drowning by Numbers” and see the album art and tracklist below.
W Artwork:
W Tracklist:
01. I Want to Go to the Side Where You Can Touch…
02. Icelina
03. Drowning by Numbers
04. Invitation
05. The Fallen
06. Beyond Good and Evil
07. Old Projector
08. You Will Know (Ohayo Version)
09. Jozan