It’s been 13 long years since experimental electronica duo Boards of Canada last released an album, but their catalogue has kept them at the heart of any conversations about pushing the boundaries of the genre. Their 1999 debut ‘Music Has The Right To Children’ remains a stone cold classic, but they’ve never quite managed to recapture that lightning in a bottle.
‘Inferno’ might be seen as a spiritual successor to one of the most important albums of the 1990s. Not only does it get back to the general vibe of ‘Music Has The Right To Children’ with its dark, anxiety-inducing ambience, chopped analogue samples and air of interdimensional malice, but it also copies the blueprint: both formed of 18 tracks, both lasting 70 minutes.
The first real track is Prophecy At 1420 MHz, an ensnaring blend of pipes, tribal drums and woozy guitars, with distorted vocal clips and bleep-blooping synths folded into the mix.
Hydrogen Helium Lithium Leviathan follows, sounding like a soundtrack to the trailer for an ‘80s thriller. Cinematic, intriguing and hypnotic, it is an early standout on an LP not short of them.
From there, ‘Inferno’ continues to do what you’d expect of Boards of Canada, however unexpected it may be. Into The Magic Land evokes The Magic Roundabout theme if conducted by Gorillaz; All Reason Departs marries sparse drums with discordant synths for one of the record’s most discombobulating cuts; and The Word Becomes Flesh uses samples from a presentation on embryos and meshes it with the kind of soothing trip-hop that wouldn’t be out of place on a PSA put out by a robotics firm.
The key positive of ‘Inferno’, though, is that it never dips in quality. There are highlight tracks, but at no point do any of the palate-cleansing interludes feel like they’re stagnating or stalling for time. It is a bewitching and rewarding experience and one that reaffirms Boards of Canada as one of the most important outfits in experimental electronic music.
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