Boris at Last -Feedbacker-

by Boris

* Feedbacker by Boris is a 40 minute epic split into 5 parts which throughout its length evolves in an ever-lasting struggle that is yet to be resolved by its end. The song has not a moment of ease; it moves indifferently like a mindless force in the same magnitude as gravity. The sound waves it emits are so massive and ear-ringing that it causes a visceral reaction in the body, creeping and shaking the bones underneath your skin.

* As I've alluded to, the song almost feels at war with two halves, a narrative I began to imagine without any lyric guiding me. The underlying main song which passes between two chords struggles in a fight against the unwieldy and deafening noise found largely on part 4. It was on part 4 I thought about this "conflict" as I realized that under the complete walls of noise I could hear the very same song structure that began in part 2.

* In part 2 it feels you wait for an eternity, but the release of the build up is one of the most satisfying moments in my music listening life. It begins subtle, with new elements creeping in as it progresses with the overall soundscape increasing in complexity and intensity, culminating in the grand moment: a heavily distorted guitar tone glides through higher pitch registers almost like screams, screams of pain that may be linked to the death on the album cover. Part 2 releases all of that pain and distortion and climax and relents into the most intimate and quiet moment of the entire piece, ending with a revitalizing first-time vocal performance.

* Part 3 continues where the preceding section left off. Here, the intensity grows more spontaneously. The vocals are what shines, it begins soothing like before, but corrupts into an ugly, but gut-wrenchingly passionate wailing. What I got from the song is a moment of death, where life "flashes before your very eyes". The lyrics is dark in themes, but coats it in flowery shell, that summed up how Post Rock felt to me.

* In part 4 the "conflict" as I've now dubbed comes in full force, where the familiar song of parts 2 and 3 become a whisper. A whisper which remains present in the background as the noise, screeching feedback, and high pitched whines consume everything in their path. This part is to my memory the only time music has gave me a physical reaction to this strength—the closet before being the comparatively weak goose bumps. I mean immense physical and mental discomfort. My head ran cold and my face scrunched up as icy tears watered slightly on my eye. I felt like I was going to die. By the end, I could not hear the once lively and massive song that tried it's very hardest to remain, and I believed the war was over.

* That is until the short, but final part of the album, where it fights back. It desperately creeps back in, as the noise calms and calms—or gets killed. One element remains though, the ear-piercing feedback spots the rest of the short piece, and ultimately, the war is never resolved. It leads me to imagine a sonic world where the noise and melody fight for power to this day.

* I talk about part 1 disconnectedly, as it itself is disconnected from the rest of the album in sound. The thick and gruggy feedback didn't really do much for me as compared to everything else, but it is still an essential opening to the album for its setting of the mood and the context it adds for the rest of the song—despite its dissimiliarity.

* It is a song I'm running out of synonyms-for-big for. Despite an average and manageble length, its sonic variety, along with its overbearing cacophony takes you to its expansive and apocalyptic universe in which the universal force of time seems to be dragged to its slowest. If I were to say that to a lot of music, that would be an insult regarding its boredom, but here, you never want it to end.