The incredible new collaboration between Crucial Blast's favorite Japanese psychedelic sludge pop gods Boris and Michio Kurihara of Ghost is finally available as a domestic release after bring issued as a super limited import last year, thanks to Drag City. I wasn't sure what to expect from Boris after their stunning Pink album and the Altar collaboration with Sunn O))) - were we going to see a return to their blown-out garage rock raveups, more time-stretched ambient doom sculpture a la Amplifier Worship, or were they going to head off into yet another unexpected direction? - but no fear, Rainbow proves yet again that Boris are one of the most creative, emotive rock bands on the planet in our time, and when they team up with other hypercreative minds (as they have done previously with Masami Akita of Merzbow, the aforementioned Sunn O))) collab, and Keiji Haino), the results are exponential.

As it is with Rainbow, which begins much like Pink, opening with a gloriously slow and distorted sludge-pop hymn, huge resonant powerchords floating up out of crumbling amplifers falling apart beneath the weight of the riff they are emitting, clean chiming guitars ringing over the crunch, dreamy vocals rising to the heavens. So great. But then the title track comes in and things take a much quieter turn, as Michio Kurihara's psychedelic guitar and the influence of his primary outfits send Boris through smoky avenues of loungey bossa nova and delicate psych-pop.

The title track is a real standout as it features guitarist Wata singing in a silky, smoky croon over a krautrocky pop tune that is seared by Michio's in-the-red acid lead playing halfway through. Then it's bassist Takeshi who sings on "Starship Narrator", which is a more rocking number matching heavy droney riffing against some more awesome psych shred from Kurihara. That's followed by "My Rain", a brief, minute-and-a-half instrumental of fragile post-rock prettiness, and then "Shine" emerges in a haze of cymbals washing over the band in a silver mist, ghostly strains of feedback wisping out of their amps, Takeshi wailing soulfully over the dreamy haze. The seven-minute "You Laughed Like A Watermark" returns to the jangly pop, soft and laid back, sorta reminds me of one of Dinosaur Jr.'s later pop songs in a way, and again Kurihara appears with a scorching solo that cuts through the song like a shaft of light. After that, the band melts down into the krauty driftout "Fuzzy Reactor", pushed skyward by slow, pulsating drumbeats and shimmering waves of chanting and feedback, creating a narcotic bliss state that is then ripped asunder by the crushing psychedelic funk rock of "Sweet No. 1", all massive churning riffage and some of the sickest distorto shredding on the album.

All that's left in it's wake is the delicate closer "...And, I Want", drifting out on softly plucked guitar strings and silky reverb. This is such an incredible album, obviously much softer than most of the Boris stuff we have but the moments of HEAVY that appear are all the more powerful when contrasted against the hazy pop of Rainbow. And man, is the psych rock element on here awesome, I would love to hear more collaborative playing between Kurihara and Boris, one album just isn't going to be enough! Highly recommended. This Drag City edition also features some gorgeous photography from Naomi Yang of Damon & Naomi fame.