When we accosted Atsuo & Wata after their concert in mid 90s at Neumo’s in Seattle (Greg and I had come to see Joe Preston’s solo project THRONES and had our very stoned minds absolutely shattered by the support act, BORIS, who we had no idea existed in this dimension) Atsuo’s instantly generous and friendly attitude belied the savage sound they had just processed though and commenced. We asked if they liked SLEEP. Atsuo pointed to Wata and said “She likes SLEEP”. We were bonded by blood at that moment. A lot of water, blood, tears and sweat under the bridge hence, many moments together on and off stage and a strong friendship that is already 20 years in… that’s amazing! I was so pleased to check out DEAR… it brought me back to those memories of tape trading with Atsuo in the late 90s (Burning Witch demo for Boris/Barebones split 10”). The record is raw and savage, but it’s absolutely not a return-to-the-roots affair, the construction and fluency of their music has gone in so many articulations since those days, it could never go back. It’s a beautiful piece of substrata, hewn from the geology of the earth and time, hewn with faith, color & passion. Heavy does it.?