| Pink | ||
|---|---|---|
 Cover for the original Diwphalanx release. Southern Lord version below. | ||
| Studio album by Boris | ||
| Released | November 18 2005 | |
| Recorded | 2005 at Sound Square in Tokyo, Japan | |
| Genre | Stoner Rock, Hard Rock, Sludge Metal, Shoegaze, Noise Rock | |
| Length | 47:23 (Diwphalanx CD) 55:23 (Southern Lord CD) 72:16 (Vinyl Edition) 38:35 (Forbidden Songs) | |
| Label | Diwphalanx Records | |
| Producer | Boris | |
| Boris chronology | ||
| Boris Archive (2005) |
Pink (2005) |
Heavy Metal Me (2005) |
| Alternative Cover | ||
| ||
Pink (Also stylized as PINK) is the eighth studio album by the Japanese rock band Boris. Stylized as "BORIS" to signify a more rock-oriented sound, Pink would be released in November 2005 via Diwphalanx, with Southern Lord Records releasing the album in North America and Europe on 16 May 2006. Pink would become somewhat of a critical breakthrough for the band, garnering critical acclaim at the time of release[1]. Upon it's 2016 re-issue via Sargent House it would receive further acclaim[2] and has since been cited as among the band's best works.[3]
Background[]
Pink would be written and recorded throughout 2005 in Tokyo. Notably, the song "Blackout" was originally written and occasionally performed in the 1990s during the band's earlier sludge years. Pink would be originally released on CD in November 2005. A double LP version would also be released by Diwphalanx on 22 December 2005, limited to 500 copies and housed in a cardboard box with cut out letters in front. Notably this vinyl edition (Also with all other vinyl editions of the album) would feature a re-arranged tracklist and extended renditions of four songs, bringing the length of the album to nearly 73 minutes.[4] A music video for the title track would be produced by fangsanalsatan & Ryuta Murayama (foodunited.), released as a DVD limited to 100 copies.
Southern Lord Records would release Pink on 16 May 2006, initially on CD ("sunn⁵⁵ oink!").[5] The tracklist would be the same, barring the final song in "Just Abandoned My-Self" being expanded to 18 minutes, the same length as the vinyl version of the song. The album cover would feature a painting by Albrecht Dürer and William Blake, with three more artworks pressed on replica blotter tabs. A vinyl version would be produced by Southern Lord in pink vinyl variants and released in June 2006.
Curated for the album's tenth anniversary, an expanded reissue of the album using the original Japanese filled stencil-style art was announced for worldwide release by Sargent House on 9 May 2016, simultaneously debuting new track "Are You Ready" from its bonus disc.[6] Along with the album would be a bonus disc known as Forbidden Songs, which is an entire album of songs recorded in the same sessions as Pink. Later the same month, NPR Music hosted a stream of an additional new song from the release, "SOFUN".[7] Sargent House streamed the bonus disc via their SoundCloud page the day before it was released on 8 July 2016.[8] The 2CD version would feature the same CD arrangement as the Southern Lord version along with the Forbidden Songs while the deluxe 3LP would feature the vinyl edition along with the Forbidden Songs as the third LP.
To support the re-issue, Boris would embark on a world tour performing the entire PINK album for it's tenth anniversary along with a handful of the Forbidden Songs. Notably, Earth would join them as direct support for the North American leg.
Reception[]
At the time of it's original release, Pink would attain significant positive reception. Pitchfork would score the album an 8.7/10 and give Pink the "Best New Music" award. Brandon Stosuy would state that Pink "unleash their most melodic, conventionally structured, and aggressively addictive LP to date: Flirting with shoegaze and ambient, Pink is a 47-minute frenzy that welcomes 2006 with open arms, bludgeoning fists, and a call to arms against MOR complacency."[9] Scene Point Blank would award an 8.5/10, stating that Pink is "never the one trick pony Boris throws in 60's psychedelic elements into some tracks ("False Bread"), ambient moments into others ("Parting", "My Machine") and yet others with a thick classic Boris drone ("Blackout"). One of the bands most diverse records, and in turn one of their best.".[10] Punknews would award an 8/10, stating "Pink offers a lot of contrasting elements, none of which should be surprising for fans of Boris, but here they expand many of these elements to work together and produce an album with some surprisingly catchy moments adjacent to drone metal tracks. The whole works quite well, providing stretches of upbeat, well structured rock with more downtrodden and atmospheric songs.".[11]
Other notable publications to review the album at the time of release would include the likes of AllMusic (5/5),[12] Drowned in Sound (8/10),[13] Spin Magazine (A),[14] Stylus Magazine (C)[15] and Tiny Mix Tapes (2/5).[16]
Reviews of the deluxe edition would garner near-universal praise. Applauding PINK as "groundbreaking" and scoring an "A-", Nina Corcoran for Consequence claimed it "holds up with contagious energy and genuinely mesmerizing atmosphere" when reacting to its 2016 reissue. She compared it to an equally experimental, influential and acclaimed metal recording, 2013's Sunbather by then-trio Deafheaven.[17] Justin Joffe, writing for Observer and write an article about the re-issue, titled "No One Can Top the Beautiful Heaviness of Boris’ Masterwork ‘Pink’".[18] Other notable reviews whom would praise the re-issue would be among the likes of Post-Trash,[19] Outlaws of The Sun[20] and Treble Zine.[21]
Tracklist[]
Diwphalanx CD[]
- 1. 決別 ("Farewell") (7:33)
- 2. Pink (4:20)
- 3. スクリーンの女 ("Woman on the Screen") (2:38)
- 4. 別になんでもない ("Nothing Special") (2:17)
- 5. ブラックアウト ("Blackout") (4:49)
- 6. Electric (1:45)
- 7. 偽ブレッド ("Pseudo-Bread") (4:29)
- 8. ぬるい炎 ("Afterburner") (4:22)
- 9. 6を3つ ("Six, Three Times") (2:53)
- 10. My Machine (2:01)
- 11. 俺を捨てたところ ("Just Abandoned Myself") (10:14)
Southern Lord CD[]
- 1. Farewell (7:33)
- 2. Pink (4:20)
- 3. Woman on the Screen (2:38)
- 4. Nothing Special (2:17)
- 5. Blackout (4:49)
- 6. Electric (1:45)
- 7. Pseudo-Bread (4:29)
- 8. Afterburner (4:22)
- 9. Six, Three Times (2:53)
- 10. My Machine (2:01)
- 11. Just Abandoned My-Self (18:14)
Vinyl Edition[]
- A1. Pink (4:20)
- A2. Woman on The Screen (2:38)
- A3. Nothing Special (2:17)
- A4. Blackout (4:49)
- B1. Electric (1:45)
- B2. Six, Three Times (2:53)
- B3. Afterburner (4:22)
- B4. Psuedo-Bread (10:08)
- C1. My Machine (11:14)
- C2. Farewell (9:32)
- D1. Just Abandoned My-Self (18:14)
Pink Forbidden Songs[]
- 1. Your Name Part 2 (6:15)
- 2. Heavy Rock Industry (3:18)
- 3. SOFUN (3:57)
- 4. non/sha/lant (2:35)
- 5. Room Noise (3:35)
- 6. Talisman (4:26)
- 7. N.F. Sorrow (7:50)
- 8. Are You Ready? (4:21)
- 9. Tiptoe (2:18)
Personnel[]
- Takeshi - Guitar, Bass, Lead Vocals
- Wata - Guitar, Effects, Echo
- Atsuo - Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
- Fangs Anal Satan - Recording, Design, Art Direction
- Souichirou Nakamura - Mixing, Mastering
- Stephen O'Malley - Design (Southern Lord)
- Greg Anderson - A&R (Southern Lord)
- Blake & Durer - Artwork (Southern Lord)
- P.C.B. - Design (Southern Lord)
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Metacritic
- ↑ Consequence of Sound
- ↑ Observer
- ↑ Discogs
- ↑ Discogs
- ↑ Pitchfork
- ↑ NPR
- ↑ Sargent House Soundcloud
- ↑ Pitchfork
- ↑ Scene Point Blank
- ↑ Punknews
- ↑ AllMusic
- ↑ Drowned in Sound via Wayback Machine
- ↑ SPIN
- ↑ Stylus Magazine
- ↑ Tiny Mix Tapes
- ↑ Consequence of Sound
- ↑ Observer
- ↑ Post-Trash
- ↑ Outlaws of The Sun
- ↑ Treble Zine