The Campfire Headphase
When you make a great album, for some reason, instead of everyone's saying "Do that again", there's a tendency for them to say "Do something different". I've never really understood that. If it's good, keep doing it.So when I read reviews of Boards of Canada's new album, I was delighted. They are being severely criticised for not varying the formula from Geogaddi. Thank fuck, I say.
Of course, Headphase is a different album. It's a bit warmer in tone, and it features treated guitar, which is new to the Boards. But all the familiar elements are there: crisp drum patterns, intricate, intersecting melodies, disconcerting sounds and samples (although fewer of these than previously). The songs tend more to the soundscape end of the spectrum. None pulses like Telephasic workshop or has the conventional structure of s1969 or Julie and Candy. This tends to give Headphase a more ambient feel than Geogaddi, and it's been criticised for this too. But do you want all your music to plough the same furrow? Each song on Headphase is intricate, tightly packed, and allowing it to unfold is a listening pleasure.
So my message to Boards of Canada is simple: do it again. And again and again. I'd never tire of music this inventive, rich and rewarding, no matter how many collections of it the Boards put out.
posted by Dr Zen @ 11:19 am
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