Boards of Canada
Geogaddi 2002 Warp Records Familiar ghostly slow melodics open the orange fronted album with pleasant but haunting melancholy, a dreamy state of mind is induced by the dropped tempo and deliciously warm reverberation that encapsulates each sound. Amidst claims of Satanism and the dark veined thinking that laces the album, the music is actually surprisingly pleasant and concordant, full of flavour and interesting wandering sections. The decision to format the music in nuggets and nibbles which sandwich slightly meatier renditions in neatly spaced interludes was carried through from the previous work, Music Has The Right To Children. The tone change and progression from the earlier light and sometimes heavenly composition has been into darker and more shady parts. Minor keys and mystery play a forerunning role in the atmosphere and direction of Geogaddi. Sound bytes and vintage sounds mix nicely in electronic fuzz and synthesised visionary scoring to meld into a cocktail of luminous darkness and magical motions that glisten and sway in and out of phase with our listening reality. We're tempted to fall into comfortable spaces littering the catchy bits, invited to drift off into sea like realms of static and chime, but the nostalgic frills and pulsing rhythms keep us switched on. This isn't a sing-a-long, Boards of Canada utilise the electronic studio environment to create enchanting backdrops and breath-taking atmospheres. Down-tempo sludgy glades of reaching ideals and self-awareness grow into philosophical and psychological arenas that recreate the music from new angles and perspectives many artists simply never see. Despite the lack of commonplace tick box items that usually make a great album, Boards of Canada went and made one in a totally different direction, and in doing so wrote a whole new list of things to include when thinking about making something totally worthwhile.
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