Boredoms

Boredoms' ringleader Yamatsuka Eye has never been one to sit still for long, and given his immersion into DJ culture in the late '90s, it's not surprising that he should want to issue another version of his band's Vision Creation Newsun. Although some remix albums are pegged as inessential curios, Rebore, Vol. 0 is so different from its source album that it nearly achieves status as a legitimate follow-up release, rather than just a companion piece. Eye chooses to emphasize a futuristic, electronically enhanced aesthetic instead of Vision Creation Newsun's cathartic, psychedelic brawn. Sometimes the sound is reminiscent of Eye's DJ Pica Pica Pica project, wherein he compiles a hyper-speed DJ mix of world music, electro, obscure techno, and even classical music. Despite Eye's interest in techno, Rebore, Vol. 0 actually tends to shy away from outright "beats." Most of the songs (all titled incorporating the number "7") start with a guitar or synthesizer line, and build upon that. "77" takes guitarist Seiichi Yamamoto's minimal arpeggio from the "circle" track on Vision Creation Newsun and adds space-age synth pings, what sounds like a deft xylophone line, and later brings in Hira's bassline, mostly buried in the original version. The mood is similar, but the execution is completely different, lending an intricate, graceful ambience to the piece. Likewise, "77777" takes Yamamoto's gentle, fingerpicked guitar figure and adds the sound of drummer Yoshimi's newborn child, later even soft vocals from Yoshimi herself. Some songs barely sound as if the same band could have produced them. "777777" takes a laid-back acoustic guitar figure and adds a tropical, bossa nova drum machine beat and in turn transforms the piece into a punchy Stereolab backing track. Rebore, Vol. 0 is different enough from Vision Creation Newsun that fans will have reason to listen, but more than that, it sits comfortably alongside Boredoms' best albums as a unique artistic experience.