Bo Ningen - Sudden Fictions
Originally from Japan, the four members of Bo Ningen - Japanese for Stick Man - met in London where they are still based. Perhaps to their bemusement, they have been lumped in with the psych scene. That may be unfair.
The band say that this album aims to “represent an alternative history and the possible future”. “One needs ears to hear the unknown, unheard, unseen; that which we discover alone, in a personal way, in the special moments of our lives” they add. Erm, maybe. Using equipment including a 1920s drum kit, an “insane” glitch guitar pedal, a Prophet 5 synth and a twin head guitar inspired by Glenn Branca whilst recording in London, Tokyo and LA with Drew (Atoms For Peace/Beck) Brown, fourth elpee Sudden Fictions certainly displays a wide range of styles and sounds.
Hauntologists Broadcast come to mind on two songs: You Make A Mark Like A Calf Branding could be that band reimagining Kraftwerk whilst the unsettling dreampop of Silenced might be them remixing Mazzy Star. Zankoku is a refugee from No Wave New York, reminiscent of UT playing James Chance. The intro to B.C. is reminiscent of the yoiking of the Sámi people before the song turns anthemic. Riff is all awkward rattling rhythms before concluding the album with gloriously squally guitar noise.
This is not an easy album but it is a rewarding one that benefits from multiple hearings.
