Live Review: Boris, Margins

Local ambient rockers Margins look as though they are sitting by a campfire somewhere outback and unwinding as they play pretty atmospheric instrumentals for us. It is a totally low-key and chilled vibe they provide, opting for pastorals with simple melodies that ebb and flow with a certain fluidity. The palette of sounds is earthy and soaking in heavy reverb. There is a robustness to Margins ambiance that has the lads working a solid muscular sound rather than approaching anything too ethereal. Surreal footage of pre and post apocalypse Hiroshima is projected on screens on either side of the stage for us to ponder as we take in the music. The dude next to us looks at his friend and says “post rockers” but tonight Margins don't have the sense of drama and wildly crashing crescendos usually associated with a post rock state of mind. Rather Margins chase late night mellowness to good effect.

Meanwhile the merch table, where there are some limited release editions of Boris' albums on offer, is busy emptying wallets. Excited fans reminisce about the absolute mayhem Boris unleashed with their high-voltage heavy rock the last time they were in town. Even though Boris are billed to play their supposedly ambient third album, Flood, everyone expects that the loudness will be turned up to 11 and they come armed with ear plugs. In keeping with the mood of Flood, the set starts with the thick greasy guitar sludge of Huge, off their second album, Amplifier Worship. It's a reworked version that sort of sounds like MBV slowed right down. It accelerates into a huge wall of noise and at the end of it, the rather glamorous Wata is gently strumming her guitar and singing the rather delicate Rainbow, which slips into some amazing riffage. It has to be said that throughout the night Wata seemed to have some magnificent fuzz effects on her guitar licks, which are some of the best that Boris have to offer. While Boris' live shows are renowned for being life-affirming riotous affairs, tonight the three-piece are subdued and focus their attention on experimental drones and mesmerising walls of guitar noise that apply as much pressure to the eardrums as possible. Takeshi, standing in front of an intimidating stack of amps, wields his double-neck bass/guitar like a weapon, effortlessly shifting between bass and guitar as the trio turn their attention to Pink. They follow this with Vanilla and Statement before the very manga, flamboyant-looking Atsuo on drums announces that they will play some unreleased material. It is exhilarating stuff but it has become apparent that Boris won't play their mind-bending third album in its entirety. Flood is essentially one track divided into four long parts and tonight Boris give us abbreviated selections from the album worked into an extended maelstrom of a jam that feels epic. It brings down an evening that unusually saw the band move in more abstract and textural directions, but at the very core of their sound the metal-inspired noise they make still produces a satisfying sensory overload.