Bosse-de-Nage - Further Still

By Justin C. Reviewing Bosse-de-Nage's new album feels a little like a homecoming to me: III was one of the earlier reviews I wrote for this site way back in 2012. It was in December, and I remember a lot of long, cold commutes to and from work

By Justin C.


Reviewing Bosse-de-Nage's new album feels a little like a homecoming to me: III was one of the earlier reviews I wrote for this site way back in 2012. It was in December, and I remember a lot of long, cold commutes to and from work trying to wedge my brain into what, at times, seemed like almost impenetrable music, a sound that seemed to try to push me away while at the same time continually revealing hidden depths. It haunted me, in the way that only good art can, much like All Fours did three years later. Now, in 2018, the band is back with their fifth full-length, Further Still.

In a break with their more anonymous past, the band has actually done some press this time around, with vocalist Bryan Manning sitting down with Invisible Oranges for an interview. The interview briefly touches on whether Further Still has "nostalgia" moments from earlier albums. I started this review talking about nostalgia, so it's an interesting question. I don't hear "throwback" elements to earlier albums as much as I hear the band refining their core sound. As early as II, the band had come to the kind of sound that, to my mind, defines them, but doesn't confine them. Maybe at some point they’ll do a complete stylistic shift, but so far, sinking into new Bosse-de-Nage always feels both familiar and bewildering at the same time.

Duality in general has long been the band's hallmark. The lyrics to the first two tracks--"The Trench" and "Down Here"--are both bleak little short stories of people who have been abandoned or about to be, yet there are moments of sweeping, chiming melody in the guitar lines in "Down Here" that, ironically, sound almost sunny. "My Shroud" starts with a slow burn, then alternates between energetic, almost poppy guitar lines and sections with some of the most intricate and harrowing compositions they've done. (Big emphasis on "almost" when I say "almost poppy"--they're probably not going to tour with Ed Sheeran any time soon.) The lyrics themselves describe an invisible shroud the narrator wears from birth to death. The listener is free to read whatever they wish into this narrative device--does the shroud represent the inevitable grinding down of life, or is there more to it?

"But wait," you might say. "That doesn't seem as weird as 'The Washerwoman' from All Fours. Isn't there something stranger?" Oh yes. I won't give away the whole story, but tension builds throughout "Sword Swallower." What might seem like an old-fashioned circus trick takes on new dimensions as the swallower takes his act in a fairly extreme direction before his crowd responds. It put me in mind of Kafka's story "A Hunger Artist,” but that's not surprising since Manning discusses his enjoyment of Kafka in the IO interview.

The music, as ever, is abrasive, punishing, and glorious. Manning's vocals are still of the strip-paint-off-the-walls variety, and the instrumentals grind, stab, warp, and soothe as needed. And as always, those drums. Those crazy, intricate, deft drums. I can say without exaggeration that the percussion on these albums are some of my favorite in all of metaldom.

I think the cost of entry for the listener of Bosse-de-Nage remains high. As Iggy Pop once said of John Coltrane, the music is difficult to get close to. But as with their previous work, this album will plant a seed inside you and grow if you let it.

Bosse-de-Nage - All Fours

By Justin C. Bosse-de-Nage is a band that quickly found and fully inhabited their own unusual brand of black metal. Their first, self-titled album is probably closest to a

By Justin C.


Bosse-de-Nage is a band that quickly found and fully inhabited their own unusual brand of black metal. Their first, self-titled album is probably closest to a "standard," raw U.S. black metal sound, if such a thing can easily be defined, but even then there was something special about them. It wasn't long before the vocals moved further to the front and became even more raw and pained, while at the same time they started mixing in a strong post-rock/alternative rock influence, particularly Slint. I noted as much when I reviewed their last album, III, for this very site.

Have they taken any huge deviations from that template with their newest album, All Fours? Not really, but don't mistake that for a lack of progress. When first listening to this album, I decided they'd dialed back the abrasiveness in favor of more melody. Then I went back and listened to iii and then All Fours back to back, and I decided that they had in fact dialed up the harshness. It's possible that I'm just losing my mind, but I think the reality is that Bosse-de-Nage's evolution on this album is a bit more subtle and takes many more listens to fully reveal itself.

Like the last album, All Fours features screams being pushed to the very edge of control, mixed with occasional spoken word interludes that carry as much ominous feeling as the screams unleash rage and pain. The guitars chime and resonate, sometimes as tremolos and sometimes as more angular riffing. And as with the last album, the drumming is absolutely top notch. As I said in that last review, I'm convinced that the unnamed drummer has some serious jazz chops, and there's even more to love here. Listen to "A Subtle Change" and prepare to have your jaw drop at what the drummer does here. It's furious, deft, and intricate all at the same time.

III featured lyrics that were fascinating, but also surreal and elliptic. All Fours continues that tradition, but now with a hefty dose of sex on the fringes. I think that fascination has always been there--after all, this is the band that had songs called "Marie in a Cage" and "Why Am I So Lovely? Because My Master Washes Me." But to my ears, there's a whole new level going on here. Album opener "At Night" describes a mash up of sadism, masochism, and pony play. Cigarette ash is dumped onto Marie's body, and the "ashes cling to the urine on her torn clothes." Her "violent dressage thrills" the narrator. The final sentence of the song, appropriately, says, "These acts are nauseating but necessary." The instrumental music at the beginning of "Washerwoman" would be a proud addition to any alternative rock catalogs, but that's before the band turns up the "MORE!" knob all the way up, and the song ends with a female party crasher "with her mouth full of lather" announcing, “I come from the City of Hair beyond the Wrinkled Mountain and I will not rest until I've washed every penis in this room.” It's a masterful mash up of melodic sweetness and a very strange swinger party.

In early press, there have been some comparisons to Deafheaven, which isn't surprising given that the bands did a split together and both bands are clearly interested in using alternative rock as an inspiration. I've also read the inevitable backlash about that comparison, which isn't surprising given how polarizing Sunbather was. I don't want to make too much of this, because the bands aren't sound-alikes by any means. All Fours can and should be judged by its own merits, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are fans that like this album much more than Deafheaven's output. For me, I feel the similarity coming from a deeper place--it has more to do with a feeling, the one you get when both music and vocals are dripping with emotion. This is serious heart-on-their-sleeves/punch-in-the-gut stuff, and on that level, All Fours resonates with me in the same way Sunbather did. And I'd be very happy if All Fours gets the same kind of attention that Sunbather did, because I think it's well deserved.

Bosse-de-Nage - III

By Justin C. Profound Lore had a stunning list of releases this year, including the third full length from the mysterious black metal band Bosse-de-Nage. Searching for information about the band yields little. They don't bother with promotion, touring, interviews

By Justin C.


Profound Lore had a stunning list of releases this year, including the third full length from the mysterious black metal band Bosse-de-Nage. Searching for information about the band yields little. They don't bother with promotion, touring, interviews, or even names. There's nothing to distract from the music, and it's well worth your attention.

Bosse-de-Nage combine black metal with a healthy dose of post-rock that's very reminiscent of Slint. Ferocious metal with pained screams gives way to quiet, almost stately interludes in which the instruments are given a chance to breathe. The vocals sometimes become spoken word performances, and the lyrics are as interesting as they are strange. The opening track, "The Arborist", tells a surrealistic story in a second-person narrative. It explains how "you" have made a deal with a shadowy figure to be placed into a hole near a tree, where you are expected to meditate. Bickering with other people in other nearby tree holes proves to be a distraction, although the ending seems to be happy, depending on what the protagonist hoped to gain. What is this story about? Does it describe a communing with nature that we've failed to accomplish? Is it an allegorical story about isolation? I really have no idea, but since the first time I heard the song and read the lyrics, it's often come to my mind at unexpected times. I enjoy surrealist writers like Kafka and Borges, and much like their work, I enjoy thinking about the story told in these lyrics, even if an easy interpretation isn't at hand.

Even if you ignore the cryptic lyrics, it's hard not to be swept away by the beautiful melodic lines that weave throughout the songs. Sometimes they're just one thread in a wave of furious music, and sometimes they're allowed to come front and center in a quiet section, but they're always compelling, even anthemic. Most arena rock bands would love to be able to write melodies like this and play them so convincingly.

I don't feel like I can do a review of this album without mentioning the drumming in particular, because it's simply astounding. I'm willing to bet that the drummer, whoever he or she is, has had some serious jazz training in the past. The technical skill is obvious, but the sense of musicality displayed is something you hear from only the best drummers. The patterns, beyond just keeping the beat, shift and move in a way that's fascinating to follow. I would listen to an album composed and recorded by the drummer alone, and as a guitarist, that's not something I find myself thinking very often.

This album took me a while to get close to, but repeated listens are both worthwhile and highly recommended.

Bosse-de-Nage - II

The Flenser has added the second album by Bosse-de-Nage to their Bandcamp. This is black metal with just a of hint post-rock and some quite surrealistic lyrics. Check out two great reviews from Last Rites and Lurkers Path.

Bosse-de-Nage wins the Metal Bandcamp best song title award for "Why Am I So Lovely? Because My Master Washes Me".

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]