Boss Keloid are a progressive rock/metal band from the UK and this is their fifth album.
If Herb Your Enthusiasm, Melted on the Inch, and Family the Smiling Thrush weren’t enough to convince you of the merits of Boss Keloid’s individual take on sludgy music, then you’ve simply been missing out. Well, now we have Float & Aperture, a record that you didn’t know you needed, but you clearly do.
Weighing in at a hefty 54 minutes, Float & Aperture finds Boss Keloid at their most unfettered, doing what they love with little concerns other than the music.
Existing in a rarefied space where elements of sludge, doom, and prog meet to share stories and ideas freely, Boss Keloid sound like few others around them. If you’re familiar with the band, their idiosyncratic style is instantly recognisable. Each record sounds like Boss Keloid, yet each has its own personality and character. It’s quite the feat, really
Over the years the band’s doom sounds have waned as the progressive ones have waxed, culminating in the prog fest that is Float & Aperture. Heaviness gives way to a density of activity as the music dives deeply into itself in search of unseen inner realms. It still operates largely in waters that are low and slow, but with ever increasing amounts of intricacy and quirkiness. This is music that’s fastidious, yet also calm and relaxed. Float & Aperture is detail-obsessed, while simultaneously feeling strangely laid back.
Boss Keloid exude confidence across these seven songs. They know they have That Something Special, and they also know they have the skills needed to translate that into music that people want to hear. Even with that though, Float & Aperture is not a simple, straightforward record to engage with. In other words, despite its obvious charms, it’s a grower. These songs need time to fully breathe and saturate the listener; as they do, their power grows. Particular mention here needs to be made of their singer, as his voice and overall performance is exemplary. His range has broadened too, with some higher cleans thrown in that add more than you might expect.
While Boss Keloid have never been a band to stand still, Float & Aperture find the band pushing themselves the furthest. The songs are generally longer, more involved, more progressive, and more complex. And do you know what? It all works wonderfully. Float & Aperture brings together heartfelt emotion, intricate exploration, and slow-burning potency, to great effect.
Very highly recommended.
