Boredoms @ The Arches

I'm no anthropologist, but the reasons for Japan having such an outstanding noise track record are beyond me. Maybe it's down to their mis-approximations of the Western rock aesthetic, or the fact that there are soiled panty vending machines and cartoon characters affixed to all their buildings. With groups like Merzbow, Hijokaidan, Masonna and Gerogerigegege, Japan has produced some of the most psychedelic, fetishistic slabs of brutality. And it's testament to the wonder that is the Boredoms that they can forsake their roots and still remain completely credible and revered. Whereas once BORE-leader Yamatake Eye was demolishing venues with hijacked JCBs, after a healthy immersion in trance music, his group's noise took on a much more rhythmic and funky route. Previous shows have seen him conducting three drummers while swinging from the lightning rig whipping a crowd of noise-heads into a dance euphoria. Whatever shape their new show will take, it will undoubtedly be a musical highlight of 2007. [Ali Maloney]