Boards of Canada: Classic or Dud?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3890160/soundtrack?ref_=tt_trv_snd

wtf ?

yep. i was psyched!

MHTRTC: childhood
Geogaddi: adolescence
Campfire: adulthood
Tomorrow: old age

"A beautiful place in the country" is one of my fave listens when being on an airplane. There is something in it which makes my mind fly which is perfect as my body flies already. That synchronisation between body and mind is perfect.

I don't see much variation between the albums. They're all good, to varying degrees, but they have more or less exactly the same mood and feel for me. That's fine, it's the kind of group they are. TH is a bit more melodic than the earlier ones, maybe?

last track on Ewans new record has a touch of Boards of Canada about it

Ewan Jansen

Great change of mood between Geo and Campfire. TH by far the least melodic IMO.

Tomorrow's Harvest made no impact on me. I was a massive fan of all of their work before- I first heard them when Campfire Headphase came out, which I love. Tomorrow's Harvest was just in one ear out the other. I owe it another listen.

i am very into late great's breakdown. what about:

MHTRTC: spring
Geogaddi: summer
Campfire: autumn
Tomorrow: winter

just relistened to Tomorrow's Harvest for 1st time in couple years and yeah it's not bad per se but def in one ear out the other. Feels like all of it could be condensed to 1 track.

exactly, it's not bad but it's so autopilot/anonymous. the thought of putting it on... it just feels like a chore.

i'll color the records this way:

MHTRTC: depression
ABPOITC: paranoia
Geogaddi: anxiety
Campfire: contentment

late great OTM

Geogaddi definitely is adolescence and the sinister edges/paranoia of the adult world creeping in

MHTRTC: Dorothy
Geogaddi: Blanche
Campfire: Rose
TH: Sophia

MHTRTC - up
IABPOITC - down
Geogaddi - strange
Campfire - charm
Harvest - top
yet to come - bottom

Off topic but for the brief time in my life where I was smoking weed they were one of my favorite bands. Geogaddi and In a Beautiful place EP can be terrifying in the wrong mood tho. There's a definite loss of innocence im those.

In not im*

Very few artists are timeless for me but BOC definitely have that distinction.

'The Campfire Headphase' is PEAK them for me. What a perfect album. It sounds like camping out on a beautiful alien planet where you're the only inhabitants.

MHTRTC - Mushrooms
IABPOITC - Ayahuasca
Geogaddi - LSD
Campfire - Ecstacy
Harvest - Marihuana

MHTRTC - Mushrooms
IABPOITC - Ayahuasca
Geogaddi - LSD
Campfire - Ecstacy
Harvest - Marihuana

Haha yeah that would be something

Says something good about boc that there's no consensus about what their best is. I couldn't listen to Campfire Headphase more than once, but I must have listened to Tomorrow's Harvest a hundred times or more

yeah TH is a great sustained bit of mood music although it's perhaps a bit too long. I need to take a long walk oke day and listen to it properly.

Campfire is the one I really didn't get. Too many horrible-sounding acoustic guitars, not enough subliminals for me.

Geogaddi I own proudly on vinyl, so maybe my favourite. That said, it's a bit disjointed (and again feels quite long). I like the fact it's by far their darkest-sounding record but I think they push it too hard on Beware The Friendly Stranger, which I really don't like. That track taints the record for me a bit.

MHTRTC and IABPOITC are obviously indisputable classics. you just can't fuck with them and they still sound amazing nearly twenty years later

Campfire progressively became my favorite. I get the BoC turns MOR criticism but they really nailed on that one the psychedelic pastoralism that I love most about them. Harvest always left me cold but otoh I never spent much time with it

Geogaddi freaked me out as a teenager due to the vocal in "The Devil is in the Details". There's a creepy vocal that sounds like it's saying "ross", which is my name. This may sound cheesy but it made the record feel cursed to me

that might be my favorite track on Geogaddi now. didn't jump out at me for years, then maybe 5 years ago it just clicked. Really disturbing song, I love the tense/hesitant keyboard motif that runs throughout.

geogaddi best album

yeah geogaddi's the best

i like tomorrow's harvest a lot. not my favorite but still remarkable

Their first albums are the best for me. Geogaddi is objectively the best one but it's too dense for me I can't listen to it full.

Objectively? Bullshit.

Music Has the Right to Children and Geogaddi are the ones I'll return to whenever I'm in the mood for a Boards of Canada record - the others, not so much.

The worst thing I could say about Boards of Canada is that in IDM (or whatever) terms they're just not as exciting as peak Aphex or Autechre.

Geogaddi>MHTRTC>>TH>>>CH

The MHTRTC/twoism/hiscores/bocuma stuff is really really special, connecting with the universal consciousness type stuff.. The rest of the albums are fine idm

The worst thing I could say about Boards of Canada is that in IDM (or whatever) terms they're just not as exciting as peak Aphex or Autechre.

Aphex Twin is not inert or soulless some of his songs are more soulful than anything BOC has done. I agree with Autechre tho.

Saying Autechre is without soul is bonkers imo. I don't even know where to begin...

It treats melody like a repugnant fart

yesca not exactly otm but this rings true ... there is an acrid (?) quality to latter autechre and much aphex whereas BoC melodies, even at their darkest, are always classically harmonious and beautiful

imo comparing autechre / aphex / BoC is a three-way apples to oranges thing, they're each quite distinct

i meant classically melodious but there are beautiful harmonies in BoC too ... occurs to me that although autechre are not always melodious they are good w harmony too

Aphex has written some of the best melodies of all time wtf you crazy kids

yep

also some of the most grating ever

aphex and autechre both have a lot of formal and emotional range, something that is sometimes slightly lacking in BoC (the formal part more than the emotional part)

imo

someone like djp will probably show up and school me on my (mis)use of music terms

Yeah I should have been clear that I was referencing IDM all up rather than specifically Aphex Twin who mostly certainly has some memorable melodies and very exciting work. But he also has a ton of the kind of IDM-like compositions in his catalog (especially the releases since he's returned to public presence) that fit the bill of the stuff I don't enjoy at all.

imo comparing autechre / aphex / BoC is a three-way apples to oranges thing, they're each quite distinct

Agreed. I was just suggesting that BoC is what I put on way more than the other two. ;)

there is so much bad IDM!

i hate the word IDM by the way and have stopped using the term. now i call everything "electronica".

It's always been one of the worst genre names. I mean, just think about what it means: not only is it pretentious and judgmental, it also backfires because anyone who says "I want some INTELLIGENT dance music" is probably someone you would never, ever want to party with. :D

This said, everyone hates Electronica, Progressive House, Chillwave, and just about any other name you can think of so IDM isn't exactly unique but the class distinction built into the term elevates into the need fop a special level of derision.

i like electronica because 1) it's corny as hell and funny to use and 2) it is at least accurate in describing the common thread (electronic instruments) and 3) makes clear the connection to exotica and other hi fi music (inventive production, emphasis on mood, designed for listening and contemplation rather than dancing or singing along to)