Not creepiest, but bleakest BoC track?

miklatov · Post by **miklatov** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 2:49 pm

Hey all,

Long time BoC fan, first time poster (and y'all seem like a nice bunch!).

What with the release of TH, and after reading the fantastic 'creepiest track' thread, I was wondering what tracks do people find the bleakest? i.e. the one that oozes hopelessness and despair to you, not the one that freaks you out.

I'm hoping this might be quite interesting, as I'm guessing views will differ a lot with one person's Roygbiv being another person's Semena Mertvykh.

My current one has to be Gemini. I suspect it is primarily because I know what's coming up with the rest of the album and it just fills me with despair in the best possible way. Any piece of music can do that to me is, in my mind, a work of art - such a great start to a fantastic collection.

Going back further, I'd probably add Smokes Quantity. Not a glimmer of hope in that track for me! Corsair too, perhaps...

Anyway, hi all, and nice to meetcha!

mc10101 · Post by **mc10101** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 3:09 pm

I am feeling over the last few days that Semena Mertvykh is probably the most unnerving thing they've ever made. There are many dark moments throughout their catalog, but whilst I always felt those atmospheres were playful this one sounds like they mean it

DisgruntledPorcupine · Mon Jun 10, 2013 3:33 pm

mc10101 wrote:I am feeling over the last few days that Semena Mertvykh is probably the most unnerving thing they've ever made. There are many dark moments throughout their catalog, but whilst I always felt those atmospheres were playful this one sounds like they mean it

Agree with all of this.

d e n · Post by **d e n** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 3:53 pm

Uritual

m1a100 · Post by **m1a100** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 4:22 pm

Tomorrow's Harvest contains some of their darkest tracks for me, like "Semena Mertvykh", "Uritual" and, sometimes, "Gemini". But, for me, "A Is to B as B Is to C" it's the creepiest track by them. I still remember the biggest feeling of fear and darkness when I listened to it for the first time...

Yeah That's Right · Post by **Yeah That's Right** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 5:35 pm

I'd sort of agree about Smokes Quantity but I think the high pitch synth section has a distinct beauty to it. It's a bit dark but I think the track is more melancholy than bleak.

Personally I'm going to say Slow This Bird Down. Very bleak. Second to that, Corsair. But I find that strangely uplifting while the former is pure darkness. But they all have such feeling in them. Never has electronic music had such soul.

On second thought it probably is Semena Mertvykh now.

machinea · Post by **machinea** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 5:48 pm

Like a horror movie, Unritual has that feel where its just beginning to dawn on everyone how bad the situation is they are in. Whereas semena mertvykh sounds like what happens after the thing that comes for everyone has left nothing alive accept one person who is bound to suffer the same fate after the movie ends. Very like the end of the The Thing remake. Bleakest ever goes to Semena

rainier · Post by **rainier** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 7:05 pm

Semena Mertvykh for me for sure (I'm finally getting to where I can spell it without looking it up).

Bleak isn't the word I'd use to describe Corsair, but I can't find the right word. There is so much clausterphobia on that album and Corsair just feels so wide open after that. I remember once I was standing over the Pacific ocean in Washington state and it was raining and there was just this endless expanse of gray water and sky and I thought "I feel like I'm at the end of the world". That's how Corsair makes me feel. But it's actually kind of a beautiful feeling.

joshkowski · Post by **joshkowski** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 9:33 pm

in the annexe

Zazen · Post by **Zazen** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 11:14 pm

m1a100 wrote: But, for me, "A Is to B as B Is to C" it's the creepiest track by them. I still remember the biggest feeling of fear and darkness when I listened to it for the first time...

That song gets creepier the more you know about it, too...

"If you go down to the woods today, you'd better not go alone!"

Yeah That's Right · Post by **Yeah That's Right** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 11:25 pm

Zazen wrote:
m1a100 wrote: But, for me, "A Is to B as B Is to C" it's the creepiest track by them. I still remember the biggest feeling of fear and darkness when I listened to it for the first time...
That song gets creepier the more you know about it, too...

"If you go down to the woods today, you'd better not go alone!"

What do you know about it that we don't...?

This is just my opinion but I wouldn't think of A Is to B as B Is to C as bleak. Creepy, subliminal, yeah, but the music itself is upbeat if anything (although it can't really be measured on a scale of upbeat or downbeat). There's not a sense of desperation or depression to the track.

kidfortoday70 · Post by **kidfortoday70** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 11:31 pm

It used to be Corsair for me, but now Semena Mertvykh definitely takes the cake.

Amo Bishop Roden · Post by **Amo Bishop Roden** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 11:34 pm

Semena Whateverthefuck. Seriously the darkest, bleakest, densest thing I've heard from BoC or anybody in a long time. I absolutely love this song, despite my flattering pet-name for it.

zeoevil · Post by **zeoevil** » Tue Jun 11, 2013 12:38 am

Beware the Friendly Stranger? Yeah, I realize it is just a short interlude, by I can't imagine anyone finding anything positive in that song at all. Even a cursory understanding of the subject matter should be enough to thoroughly depress anyone.

wash · Post by **wash** » Tue Jun 11, 2013 2:11 am

I have never thought of a single Boards of Canada song as being 'bleak' until Tomorrow's Harvest.

Basefree · Post by **Basefree** » Tue Jun 11, 2013 3:25 am

Nobody else thinks Basefree is their bleakest moment?

Honestly?

Zazen · Post by **Zazen** » Tue Jun 11, 2013 3:33 am

Yeah That's Right wrote: This is just my opinion but I wouldn't think of A Is to B as B Is to C as bleak. Creepy, subliminal, yeah, but the music itself is upbeat if anything (although it can't really be measured on a scale of upbeat or downbeat). There's not a sense of desperation or depression to the track.

That's what I'm saying, it doesn't sound too creepy at first; weird, sure, but if you listen to it backwards it's pretty freaky. "If you go down to the woods today you'd better not go alone..."

superuser · Post by **superuser** » Tue Jun 11, 2013 4:36 am

They're all my most bleak.

Yeah That's Right · Post by **Yeah That's Right** » Tue Jun 11, 2013 1:59 pm

Does anyone else find Boqurant incredibly bleak? There's such a sadness to the melody. It sounds a bit like a very dramatic 'Game Over' melody on a game. No continues.

riverz · Post by **riverz** » Tue Jun 11, 2013 3:09 pm

Most definitely Semena Mertvykh. Going with the term bleak, it is by far their bleakest moment at least from the emotional reaction I have from it. It's also up on the top of the list in my own personal catalog of dark ambient tracks.

It's downright haunting. It's total loss.