Review: Bossk ‘.4’
Storytime: back in 2017, I dragged my then-partner to a Russian Circles show in a hipstery part of London I hope to never set foot again and told him ‘Every single band on this bill is amazing live, trust me.’ That day, Russian Circles were accompanied by two lesser known bands: Bossk and Brutus. Said ex-partner used to drum in a few stoner bands in Brighton, so he was blown away by Brutus. I was quite proud of myself to have converted him to it. But Bossk… he couldn’t get into it, he said it was ‘too cringe’ to be taken seriously. So long story short, the release of .4 couldn’t fall at a better time, since I’ve been single for almost two years at this point and dying to tell you all about it.
Firstly, I have to warn you all: this is not a brand-new full-length album, it’s a compilation of reworked material but with a twist because it features a slew of guest appearances from their friends in bands, which I will get to in a second.
Secondly – and this might be a controversial take – this album can serve as a nice introduction to the band to those who aren’t familiar with them, but might sound like a big disappointment to long-time fans, especially considering that .4 is the last one featuring Sam Marsh, now based in the USA. But I’m sure that their new vocalist, Simon Wright (formerly of Krokodil and Year of the Man) will do just fine in the future and not everything in this record is bad. Far from it.
Take for example, Events Occur In Real Time, which is the perfect swansong for Marsh to wave us goodbye. That song alone justifies why this album is worth giving it a go. The loud roars, the riffs, the pachydermal drums and the heavy bass, this reinterpretation of their 2009 song from their split with Rinoa (if you know, you know) show the grit from back then and the growth we see now. A perfect combination for what to expect from them as they approach their twentieth anniversary in 2026 and eagerly wait for new material from them… or like me, wait for their set at ArcTanGent in August 2024, just so they could play Kobe with Pijn four times in a row.
a really cool project that the band decided to embark on and bring their friends along the way…
You have to applaud the risks taken in this record with great rearrangements of classic Bossk songs like from Reuben Gotto’s remix of I (from their debut demo way back then), The Reverie superbly reimagined by both Maybeshewill and Crown Lands but especially Truth II which started on Instagram when Sheenagh Murray covered it and ended up being reworked and added to. Very reminiscing of early 65daysofstatic or Teeth Of The Sea, the type of songs I’d like to see being played live at some point because it blends perfectly the whole atmosphere of the album and of the band too.
However, there were a few tracks that got me thinking ‘err… for real?’ like in Albert – a track that sounds a bit like a bad outtake of Battles – or White Stork x Endon which caught me a little off-guard as it sounded a bit different from what I could remember of the Migration’s opening intro, even as a drone and post-rock enthusiast. But as part of the album, it makes sense, it just didn’t hit me straight away on the first few spins.
Overall, .4 is not a bad album, it’s a really cool project that the band decided to embark on and bring their friends along the way, and it needs to be highlighted because the quality is there and so are the post-rock riffs that made me fall for them about twelve or thirteen years ago, but I would completely understand if diehard fans won’t add this one onto their AOTY list because it’s not necessarily what they wanted from Bossk at this point. I’d still say this is a great album to delve into if you’re curious and want more post-rock riffs in your lives.
Label: Deathwish Inc
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Twitter | Instagram
Scribed by: Nessie Spencer
