Album Review: Boris Smile - My Love Powered By 10,000 Practice Amps

After being streamed here on Alter The Press!, I finally got a chance to sit down and listen to ‘My Love Powered by 10,000 Practice Amps’; the third full length album released by Californian natives, Boris Smile.

The opening track ’10,000 Practice Amps’ is a little bizarre. More like the intro to a live heavy metal act, the heavily distorted instruments and psychedelic background noise are a stark contrast to the rest of the album.

With so many tracks on offer, you get a wonderfully eclectic mix of songs. Some remind you of The Beatles (‘Lucy’), others have that classic indie-folk tone (‘Into Town’, ‘Heart of Gold’); some are a little heavy (‘The Battle Of Miss Little’) and others are incredibly mellow (‘Living Water’), but no matter how different each track sounds, each one is a little gem, and the obvious harmony throughout the band makes every listen a joy.

You are led through something of a journey throughout the whole album thanks to the use of various sounds, vocals and instruments. Tracks like ‘War Canoes Of Canada’, ‘You Are Loved’ and ‘When Steven Walked On Water’ reaffirm this sense of intrigue and warrant your undivided attention.

The real highlight of the album is a track called ‘Mother Hen (Are You A Shelter?)’; this is a beautifully written song with heartfelt lyrics and a wonderful melody that perfectly encapsulates what the band are seeking to achieve with this album.

The LP goes on in that same, stylistic, indie-folk fashion until it culminates with ‘The Egg Of Mother Hen’; a starry, chilled out ending that unexpectedly leads to an extra track, giving you one last treat before the album is up.

It’s pretty rare these days to find a group of musicians that are so creative and so charming, and it’s even rarer for them to release 23 tracks in one go! The phenomenal amount of work that must have gone into this album is admirable and the end result is something truly special, something that is timeless and something that surpasses literally everything the current indie-folk scene has to offer.

5/5

'My Love Powered By 10,000 Practice Amps' by Boris Smile is available now through Count Your Lucky Stars Records.

Official Website
Boris Smile on Facebook.

Sandeep Dawett