Boards of Canada have come a long way since their early days of home made CD’s given only to friends and family. From their Hi-Scores EP on Skam, Warp Records quickly snapped up the Scottish duo. Their pioneering Music Has the Right to Children not only made the band their name, but introduced a lot of non-electronic music people to synthesized sound. The heady melodies, hazy beats and dreamy soundscapes, created on aging analog machines, won the guys a solid fan base. BoC became the toast of the IDM scene, playing headline at several electronic gigs. After Music Has The Right… the partnership released the sublime A Beautiful Place Out in the Country EP which was followed up the by the expressive Geogaddi LP. The Sandisons recently put out their third LP Campfire Headphase before their latest EP: Trans Canada Highway. One question immediately springs to mind; has the Boards of Canada sound transformed as the size of the musicians fan base has? Has the BoC sound evolved over the years? And is there any reason why the sound should change?
The extroverted Scotsmen, generally stored away in their studio hideaway: the Hexagonal Sun, have stepped out once again to release another electronic piece. But does it stand up to its predecessors? The CD for Trans Canada Highway comes in a loving cardboard sleeve, a visual precursor to the wealth of music contained on the 5″ metal disc. The opening track, “Dayvan Cowboy” adheres to much of the classical BoC sound with heady and hazy synths. Yet, the track has a much more organic feel to it than much of the groups other releases with its guitars and strings. The track is not as much a break in the classic Boards sound as it is an experimentation with it. A really wonderful piece to start the EP on.
The next two tracks are quintessential Boards of Canada. “Left Side Drive,” with its dreamy melodies that weave seamlessly through crisp snares, is what made the Sandisons name in music. “Skyliner” is a throwback to Music Has the Right to Children, a blend of analog chords and crunchy blip hop beats crape a clever and relaxing track.
“Under the Coke Sign” opens with light electronic chords that sound like they were recorded on some archaic Dictaphone, with loud crackles audible in the background. Like “Heard from Telegraph Lines,” “Under the Coke Sign” is a break track; a palette refresher before the last track. The Odd Nosdam remix is perhaps one of the most interesting elements of the EP. Odd Nosdam, AKA David Madson, nervously starts of this remix, dipping a timorous toe into the waters of the BoC original. Then, the remix’s confidence grows as tones and strings rise from the recesses of the speakers. But all of a sudden, like a frightened child, the track scurries back into the security of silence. The sound re-emerges to poke a droning head out from behind the speakers only to quickly recede once more into silence. The remix doesn’t particularly resemble the original, but why should it have to? This is a wonderfully interesting a playful rendition to finish the EP on.
At the beginning of this review the question was posed whether BoC’s style had transformed or not. Campfire Headphase showed that BoC could go in different directions, but is that a evolution of sound? A better way to tackle this problem, is why should the BoC style have to change? The Sandisons created their own unique sound, one which is still fresh and which they are masters of. Trans Canada Highway shows that Boards are able not only able to re-create their classic sound, but add elements of experimentation to that sound such as with “Dayvan Cowboy.” Trans Canada Highway showcases both the music that made BoC, and hints to the new direction they may take. This EP is not about BoC’s evolution, a notion that reviewers are always fixated with, but about BoC’s expertise in electronic music. Once more BoC have offered up a deep and beautiful release, one not to be smeared by the pedantries of Darwinian theory. This EP is a beacon shining through the fog of critics’ comments. Trans Canada Highway solidifies and confirms the Sandisons rightful status as electronic masterminds.
Trans Canada Highway is out now on Warp.
