LP5 - Inferno

[TaoTapeTao]

Look mang. I love it, too. But the idea that this is anything more than just TH2 is some serious projecting of selfish fandom.

I love it because BOC finally stuck themselves out there again but come on.

Sounds like you're doing the projecting here

I hear some crossover from all their records on Inferno, but I wouldn't at all classify this as "TH 2." It's not selfish to enjoy an album as its own thing.

[teknologika]

I listened as soon as it came out. Wow, what an album indeed. Better than TH, in my opinion

[blankleader]

Look mang. I love it, too. But the idea that this is anything more than just TH2 is some serious projecting of selfish fandom.

I love it because BOC finally stuck themselves out there again but come on.

Sounds like you're doing the projecting here

I hear some crossover from all their records on Inferno, but I wouldn't at all classify this as "TH 2." It's not selfish to enjoy an album as its own thing.

That is fair and I hear the crossover, too. But I heard the crossover on TH, too, along with the intense intent to come off as a ghost-movie soundtrack. In particular, "Nothing is Real" hit me hard on TH as an aside to the soundtracking, and I sense a similar "we know what you like" goal with "You Retreat in Time and Space," even though the latter is more old-school BOC. But the production approach on Inferno and TH are pretty damn the same.

I do love Inferno, just weirded out that that it seems to be a gigantic divergence for so many after TH.

More guitars, yeah. And I love that.

[rubicon]

Back on here after a spoiler-avoiding week away... Had my first (and at the time of writing, only) listen yesterday - went out to ABPOITC on an appropriately baking hot morning to listen to the continuous mix on headphones, which turned out to be perfect. Turned noise cancelling off so I could hear a bit of my surroundings - lots of birdsong and the occasional helicopter (sometimes see Chinooks flying along the coastline near where I live) made it feel extra Boardsy.

Anyway... Wow. I felt totally blown away after hearing Inferno/Prophecy when the video dropped and that was replicated tenfold hearing it all in full. It sounds enormous, like the birth of the universe. So intense. Never imagined I would head such an angry-sounding boc record, in a "look what nature/existence has given us, fuck you for destroying it for your own selfish ends" kind of way. Actually found it slightly anxiety inducing at times in the way a good horror film can be, and pretty close to the bone which obviously is the intent.

But so many really beautiful moments as well - the last 2 tracks in particular felt pretty uplifting in a bittersweet way. A few moments throughout the album brought Cocteau Twins to mind which was unexpected. And it sounds so live! Can definitely imagine it being played by a full band - amazing to hear so much unprocessed electric bass on a Boards of Canada album.

Also, I swear I could hear a reprise/sample of Collapse somewhere near the end. Anyone else hearing that? Probably tons of other callbacks it will take years to pick up on.

Having only heard the continuous mix I'm not familiar with many of the track names yet but can't wait to delve and get to know this monster of an album more, really excited to put the LP on over the weekend and have a proper look at the artwork.

They've excelled themselves again. Absolute magic(k).

[blankleader]

Look mang. I love it, too. But the idea that this is anything more than just TH2 is some serious projecting of selfish fandom.

I love it because BOC finally stuck themselves out there again but come on.

Sounds like you're doing the projecting here

I hear some crossover from all their records on Inferno, but I wouldn't at all classify this as "TH 2." It's not selfish to enjoy an album as its own thing.

That is fair and I hear the crossover, too. But I heard the crossover on TH, too, along with the intense intent to come off as a ghost-movie soundtrack. In particular, "Nothing is Real" hit me hard on TH as an aside to the soundtracking, and I sense a similar "we know what you like" goal with "You Retreat in Time and Space," even though the latter is more old-school BOC. But the production approach on Inferno and TH are pretty damn the same.

I do love Inferno, just weirded out that that it seems to be a gigantic divergence for so many after TH.

More guitars, yeah. And I love that.

I made the mistake of reading horseshit Reddit posts and then responding here. Sorry. But I stand by the idea that Inferno is a very a very natural progression from TH. Even though the beats are more in your face than TH.

[audiotrack]

Loving repeated listens of this album.
Would anyone like to start a pol where maybe each member can choose their fav track(s).
I don’t think I would know how to put this together but it would be cool to see it develop.
Maybe it’s too soon for that just yet.

[usnea800]

Listened to the whole thing yesterday at a record store event yesterday, have had it on repeat almost non-stop since. I am really impressed with it. Thank You Mike & Marcus!

[Ottomatik]

Loving repeated listens of this album.
Would anyone like to start a pol where maybe each member can choose their fav track(s).
I don’t think I would know how to put this together but it would be cool to see it develop.
Maybe it’s too soon for that just yet.

Great idea, I made one here.

[Altruizine]

Do you think the bros are reading this forum to see what's being said about the record? With Tomorrow's Harvest they were "curious to see what hidden messages get picked up on". How do they receive that information? The most plausible explanation is to just read the conversations yourself. It should be more entertaining too than relying on MDG or whatever to give them the highlights. They are the only ones who know exactly what messages were embedded in the music.

[Moloch]

Has anyone in the EU received their parcel from Bleep? Mine was sent on Monday, still waiting. I hope it's not lost...

[belchmaster]

I think that's wonderful! Really happy with the record. The hard hitting beats, different acoustic instruments and voices really make this one stand out. Yet there are still some nice melodies and nods to their older works. What a great return. Lets hope they stay a while and do some interviews. If not, that's fine by me. The tunes really speak for themselves.

[Ottomatik]

Has anyone in the EU received their parcel from Bleep? Mine was sent on Monday, still waiting. I hope it's not lost...

Same as you.

[Moloch]

Has anyone in the EU received their parcel from Bleep? Mine was sent on Monday, still waiting. I hope it's not lost...

Same as you.

Worst part is, they had the red DLP for sale at the listening session on Thursday. With goodies

[Cernunnos]

Has anyone in the EU received their parcel from Bleep? Mine was sent on Monday, still waiting. I hope it's not lost...

Same as you.

Received this morning !

[jcnporter]

Got my CD and T-shirt this morning, listening again on CD is another step up in sound quality even from the ALAC download yesterday, so appreciating the album even more now.
As some of the decent reviews pointed out, in theme, arrangements and a lot of the synth sounds/unusual melody choices, it's unmistakably BOC, but cleaner, bigger and more live sounding.
I think t's a continuation of TH only in the sense that they've obviously permanently moved on from the saturated, hazy, fucked up sound that was their trademark. There was a risk if they returned to that sound after 13 years they'd have ended up too close to self-parody, so I think that's a good thing. It's definitely an evolution, rather than a revolution. Everything else that makes them unique is still there, though.

[Helios]

Avoided the forum and any reviews/online reactions and listened last might for the first time with some friends on a serious sound system.

Completely blown away, I was not expecting how phenomenal that was going to be. Might be my favorite album of theirs, there are SO many stand out tracks. You Retreat in Time and Space could be their best track ever recorded - such a damn good , warm feeling when hearing it. But I could also say that for others on here.

Well worth the long wait, A+, 10/10.

Thank you, Boards of Canada!

[Ottomatik]

Has anyone in the EU received their parcel from Bleep? Mine was sent on Monday, still waiting. I hope it's not lost...

Same as you.

Received this morning !

Lucky you! I'm checking my mailbox every hour like a madman but looks like I'll have to wait next week


Anyways, I was having a 2nd listen and there are two interesting points that left me wondering about its narrative:
1- Why is Collapse being referenced at the end of Blood in the Labyrinth?
2- Do the heart monitoring beeps from Memory Death echo the heartbeats on Platonia? Interestingly, Memory Death is followed by The Word Becomes Flesh whose lyrics evoke embryogenesis. It's also right at the middle of the album, while Platonia is last.

So it seems like first half of the album ends in death, while the 2nd one focuses more on rebirth. Could this be a way to suggest the concept of reincarnation? Given the album's overall religious theme…
It could very well be an overinterpretation but who knows

[NoobSpotted]

This album is soooo good :333

[NoobSpotted]

This album is soooo good :333

[Electronic Dave]

Anyone noticed the CD is exactly 70 mins long? I wonder if that is intentional. *edit* Hang on Music70!

Also I think a similar radio tuning sound effect is present in the far background on 'All Reason Departs' and is more noticeable on 'Split Your Infinities' from TH...it was bugging me