Boards Of Canada – Tomorrow's Harvest

Oh, boy. The way some fans have been anticipating this album, you'd think BoC were God Himself, resurrected and ready to rescue the world from itself on release date. Such was the fervor for any new, official material from the brothers that after they ed their new single onto YouTube, their website crashed the same day due to traffic overload. Masterpiece incoming? Well....

I've listened to the whole album several times and I gotta say, for keeping a rather cool head since the announcement for this album's release, I'm not moved much by it. If Mike and Marc were aiming to make a dystopian horror soundtrack, then mission complete. You can practically do the zombie shuffle through it all (and even creepy zombie moans would sound appropriate in "Uritual"), as if hearing their Day of the Dead take on the aptly titled "White Cyclosa" wasn't evidence enough by then. It's almost like the brothers are pulling a BoC on their *own* past; everything that was once alive is now made ghostly, distant, and nostalgic.

A real disappointment is that the breather tracks simply aren't great leaders ("Collapse," "Transmisiones Ferox"), which is shocking when one considers that some fans were looking forward to those the most exactly because they typically lead into their best songs, e.g. "Ready Lets Go" leading into "Music is Math," "Bocuma"'s lead-in to "Roygbiv," "A Moment of Clarity" to "84 Pontiac Dream," the opener for "Everything You Do Is a Balloon", etc. Without a doubt, the biggest lost opportunity of the album is "Split Your Infinities," which opens with such a gorgeous 90 seconds that is so organic and other-worldly you feel buoyant, and then it fizzles out. This could've been the best track of the album, yet the melody fades out nearly as soon as it begins, repetitiously drumming onward for the final three minutes while some garbled & distorted voice makes some noises. What a waste!

As for the good? "Reach For The Dead" sums up the whole intended eco-collapse theme of the record, the Geogaddi-like "Cold Earth" exhibits some somber sonics, and "Sick Times" is a great example of that ethereal place you'll end up in after ing underneath the Coke sign. But the finest track here, "Nothing Is Real," is a wonderful piece of chin-up after all the depressive atmospheres one must slog through to get to it. It is such a bright contrast to the surrounding darkness (and a funny title in hindsight, considering it's the most *tangible* melody of the record) that it helps expose the weakness of Tomorrow's Harvest as a whole: pursuing said eco-collapse theme for an entire record.

In closing, I really do hope that Michael and Marcus find something positive and hopeful for their futures, and that they realize that not everything is as dead as this album impresses so hard. What does it say that fans expect more along the lines of Music Has The Right To Children and not of The Campfire Headphase? Rigid to change? Immune to hope? "I'd rather sadly roam the earth, long-face pointed downward, shuffling towards the inevitable end of our precious ecosystem"? [Shrugs] Who knows. Take my opinion for what it's worth, or don't. But I *do* know one thing: this deathly album's sound is BoC's eco-dirge, their requiem mass for the earth. Contrast this to their previous LP, the most cheerful and enjoyable album of their career that "true" fans loathe so much, and you may ache for relief, too. Having said that, I won't be extending my arm out again to reach for the dead... I'd sooner keep it in the Campfire.

Their best work since 'MHTRTC'. More of a slow burner then previous albums. The beats and hooks aren't as instantly infectious as previous works, it's more of a specific atmosphere of both excitement and dread the album creates as a whole. Brings to mind desolate landscapes, the movie 'Walkabout', post-apocalyptic sci-fi. It really stays with you. They still have the uncanny magic touch of evoking memories you forgot you had. Single 'Reach for the Dead'-outstanding track- represents the album pretty well.

Could this be the most radical album to break iTunes top 10 albums chart?

A new Boards Of Canada album, what can you say?