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Pretty psyched for the Washed Out/Small black show next week. This is the Washed Out tour CD that's been floating around.
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Time to make a trip to the local junk shop and pick up an extra stereo: Boris' massive instrumental opus, Dronevil, makes a conceptual nod toward the Flaming Lips' Zaireeka. Instead of four CDs spinning simultaneously, the doom symphony is intended to be experienced on two synced, overlapping sets of speakers. If you already own the limited (and currently sold out) double-vinyl edition that the folks at Misanthropic Agenda kindly released last year, take note: This newer draft, Dronevil Final, is a burlier monster. The Misanthropic edition included four approximately 20-minute tracks, each taking up one side of a record. Inoxia's CD reissue, though, packs on two additional 20-minute pieces-- two hours if you play the discs straight through.
But, of course, that's not the plan: If you do own a couple of stereos (or can score one from a friend), you'll be able to unleash Dronevil as Boris intended-- an hour of doubled, layered, hyper-stereophonic sounds. Generally, one half, "Disc Drone", consists of darkened ambient work while the other, "Disc Evil", is louder rock. If played concurrently in the same room, the two mesh into one gigantic wall of rock'n'drone, but it's difficult to know how closely Boris tracked the separate compositions. In many cases, it seems the dynamics created are the result of chance. Process isn't important to the end result-- I tried both ways and prefer the spaciousness of listening to the discs separately. Which is good news, I guess, unless you're enough into micro-managing to go for the simulcast each time you need a Boris fix... A few folks I know have mentioned being bored by Sun Baked Snow Cave, Boris' 2005 collaboration with Merzbow. I also found its somewhat haphazard, collagist feel a tad flat. Anyone scared off by that excursion shouldn't automatically ignore Dronevil. It's another lengthy exercise, yes, but it showcases so much more substance, fluidity, and dimension. No matter how you slice or dice it-- and hey, why not mix and match the different pieces to create your own hybrids?-- it's a pleasingly exhausting lesson in sonic variation. Outside of Pink, it's their most inspired work in ages. Totally stunning. --Pitchfork