Rainbow
Combine Ghost’s Michio Kurihara with the Japanese power trio Boris, and the result is about what fans might expect: a heavy, psychedelic-stoner drone that often sounds as if the world is coming apart, piece by piece, but with a surprising amount of catchy tunes. The opener, “Rafflesia,” is five and a half minutes of slow-peeling action, a potential soundtrack to watching the sun slowly peek over the horizon. The title track is a beautifully muted and surprisingly precise pop song. “Starship Narrator” swings while maintaining a heavy trudge and a few spotlights for Kurihara to work the wah-wah pedal. “My Rain” is a gentle bucolic interlude serving as a brief introduction for the Pink Floyd–like ethereal buzz of “Shine” and the seven-minute understatement of “You Laughed Like a Water Mark.” It’s the final three tracks that get closest to what one might expect from this collaboration; “Fuzzy Reactor” and “Sweet No. 1” find enterprising new sounds in instrumental freakouts, and “No Sleep Till I Become Hollow” is a beautifully subdued piece of tranquil grace.