Anybody else a little underwhelmed by the new release?

[naicob]

I am curious to know the ages between those who love tomorrow's harvest and those who aren't too keen on it. I myself am 30, and I think it is a very solid release, but MHTRTC and geogaddi, along with campfire are classic

I think it will grow on people.

I think it is their best work, but then again, I just went back to their oldest stuff and find it just as awesome.

I'm 32 and this album is a masterpiece.

[thepastinsidepressant]

38 here

i like TH don't get me wrong, just adjusting my brain atm. its the structure/flow of it i'm getting used to - i'm not going to call it a masterpiece, just yet. in time i hope.

put it this way, if the tracks Reach for the Dead, Jacquard Causeway, Palace Posy and New Seeds
, maybe Cold Earth too, were removed and more arp, horror, drone stuff was put in there to 'fit' in with the rest of it then it would probably be boring. these tracks break it up more and create the dynamic so to speak

its like theres something for everyone in here. actually now that i listen to them, its the shorter tracks that have that sinister suspense between the above named tracks.

bit of light here, bit of dark there, up and down, in and out, a trippy ride.

[SpaceCase]

At first i might have been a little underwhelmed, but that was just because i didn't understand it. Now i love it and it's really grown on me already. There are a few spots/songs that i still need to listen to a little more to get where they are coming from but so far it's a great album and theme... lots of new ideas they've created in it.


edit: idk why people are saying their age in these last few posts, but 22 (practically 23 in few days) here.

[d3v3l]

I think the phrase people should be reminded of is "Be thankful for what you have". So you think that all the work they put into it for the past 8 years was not worth the hype? Does that really have an impact on how you listen to BoC? Screw the hype. Listen to the album and enjoy it for what it is and if you don't enjoy it that is ok too because everyone is entitled to thier own opinion - but don't blame it on the hype... really. Also I would never relase a piece of art until I thought I was perfected - and even though not everone is a perfectionist - the brothers certainly try for it - and if it takes 8 years it takes 8 years and I'd be willing to wait another 8 years for thier next album.

[aperture]

34, and listening for over 12 years. I'm in the masterpiece camp. I've also decided that this record is it's own animal, and for that reason stands very well next to the other LP's. I thought TCH was a little off-putting in it's relatively "clean" sound at first, until I appreciated it more and more on it's own. I think they're all growers. I thought Julie and Candy was freakish at first, now it's a favorite.
Here's what I think they accomplished:
Not repeating themselves too much, employing new tricks (who really wants to process sound in exactly the same way for 12 years anyway?), making more visual/cinematic music, creating a soundtrack album and retaining and expanding on extremely deep themes that aren't immediately apparent. That last part is at odds with the instant gratification set. I think each record succeeds in it's own way. Taking a wider view, you can see how they might have organized these projects. We got the dark insidious schoolbook record, the sunny pop record, and now this incredibly unique movie soundtrack. After a few listens, I can't consider it a combination of any of the others. Some of the other records seem like they speak to individual experience, whereas this one feels more global. They already captured perfectly the feeling of crawling out of the serotonin pool of youth (the article describing MHTRTC as the moment between blissful ignorance and painful knowledge really nailed it in that respect, and it makes a nice segue into the next 'book of knowledge'). TH seems to put on a wider lens and describe a much larger pool receding. It's the story of the grandest recession you can imagine, and a fairly logical progression from the others. Just my 85 cents or so..

[wash]

This album is indeed a masterpiece. Totally unlike anything Boards of Canada have done but a necessary and in my opinion fascinating progression for them to make in order to continue to be one of the most unique music makers in the realm of electronica at a time where many musicians have aped their sound. Boards manage to still sound fresh on this release while not comprising their interest in nostalgic memories and soundscapes: the focus here, however, seems to have shifted from childhood joy but to the creeping panic in relation to things that were foreign or perceivable dangerous, kind of like the older, more mature brother of Geogaddi, with a college degree and more grounded focus. The 80's synth throwback in the album's sound seems to be reflective of the creepiness of watching a TV program intended for older audiences when you are a kid - anyone else remember how fucking scary The X-Files theme was? Global collapse (the cold war) would be an image much more powerful in the mind of an eight-year old as opposed to someone who has grown cynical and tired of an atmosphere of paranoia and is now existing in that universe of destruction, slightly jaded but with the ability to better articulate it.

Anyway, I am totally rambling here. The album is great. Kind of overwhelming at first because there's not as much going on right at the circus and some of the tracks use very similar synth-pad, but it inhabits a consistent mood, which I like and kind of feel that their earlier releases, while still amazing (Music Has the Right will never be equaled) drifted between different moods too much to make an entirely cohesive package. The Campfire Headphase moved closer to this approach. TH nailed it. It's just such a well-put together product of aesthetic and ideas all around. Also of consideration is how much is going on under the songs - I'm well into my twentieth or so straight listen, and every time I hear small melodies and garbled samples buried in the mix that never came to my attention before. TH looks stagnant, but like trying to make out an image through TV static, there is something subtly lingering behind.

[kidfortoday70]

It took me a while to get into it, but once I did I absolutely love this album. I think people let themselves get carried away with all the hype that surrounded TH.

[machinea]

I went in with low-ish expectations but hopeful. I came away tremendously moved and overwhelmed. I was blown away actually. I do think its a masterpiece and I'm quite pleased. I'm 44 if that matters and watched those same films and horror sound tracks that sometimes sounded like cheesy synth stuffs with some cool moody creepy stuff thrown in.

Check out the main theme for Day Of The Dead - The Dead Walk totally doesn't fit the mood of the movie AT ALL. It puts Palace Posey in a different context. But more to the point I'm glad some of you are starting to like it more. I'm sure that feels like a bit of relief. It sucks to not like a long awaited release from your top artists... I know I've suffered that a lot over the years. (kate bush, peter gabriel etc)

[sleepysilverdoor]

This is the first one since MHTRTC that hasn't had to grow on me, but it definitely got even better on subsequent listens. I've heard it compared to MHTRTC but I don't think that's accurate at all, other than its "earworminess" factor maybe.

It might remind you of music 5 or 10 years removed from some of their older material, but you can't just keep making the same album over and over again and I'm glad they didn't. It's still their sound, but it goes in some new directions. Maybe being 35 instead of 40, I am at a better age than some to appreciate what they did here. I don't see how it really matters though. They've taken the concepts and material that influenced them as teenagers rather than as small children, and that's totally cool.

Same for me, also a 35 yr old, it struck a chord straight away.

The nostalgia is there but more for dodgy 18 rated VHS tapes exchanged in the school playground (watched in secret of course and usually with crap tracking) and late night made for tv thrillers. This as opposed to the Infant/junior school nostalgia of MHTRTC.

Yeah, there is something there......a glimmer for me, but nowhere near as complete and overpowering as older work

J

Maybe it's my age (23, b. 1990) that does this, but the nostalgia factor that so many people talked about with nearly all of their earlier releases never resonated with me. People kept talking about their uncanny ability to evoke warped images of the past...but it was always a past I never experienced. That probably has a whole lot to do with the fact that the key historical period that they commonly referenced was North American media from 1979/1980ish...a time period I totally missed.

Now with Tomorrow's Harvest, I can recognize and appreciate the subtle past referencing elements -- not because was there for the 80s, but because my elementary school days were filled with old educational videos from the 80s with video introductions that sounded like that little fanfare at the beginning of Gemini, because the bookshelves at my elementary school were stocked with old National Geographic issues from the cold war era, where the fear of the bomb, while it had subsided, was recent enough that we still heard about it all the time. The Soviet Union collapsed when I was one year old, but the legacy of the cold war mentality still lurked in the shadows among the adults I was around.

In that way, TH sounds MORE nostalgic to me than any of their previous work, if only because I can relate to it more. Perhaps the reason MHTRTC isn't my favorite album is because I'm just the wrong generation to really get it (also, weird occult stuff is timeless...so Geogaddi isn't affected by that. And Campfire is just beautiful)

[Synthestesia]

I though it would grow on me but I'll be straight up and say it really hasn't. Whenever I go to listen to it I usually end up listening to Geogaddi/MHTRTC or another artist. It's good of course because it's boc, but I will say some of it I actually don't like which is rare with boc for me. I'm disappointed and very satisfied at the same time.

to quote rodheh:
"But I just feel like there's not a lot of substance to what's there. There's not as many layers, the melodies and beats aren't as intriguing or detailed and it seems to lack humanity. Dare I say the album actually sounds kind of like a BoC-alike? Because that's really the vibe I'm getting from it discounting New Seeds, Uritual, Telepath and parts of Nothing is Real. I don't dislike it but if I were to say that I think it's deserving all the acclaim it's getting I would be lying."

Basically how I feel towards it

[Spaced]

i think it's excellent. strangely, it satisfies me in a different way than i thought it would, and because it turned out not remotely like any of the scenarios in my head these past 8 years it adds to the overall appeal for me.

they managed to worm their way into my head in a way i had not envisaged. they seem to do this every bloody time.

[egbdf]

I'm from '91, and I still experienced the nostalgia effect on their previous work. I think it's because I grew up watching a bunch of old VHS movies.

So far I'm really liking Gemini, Jacquard, Telepath, and Semena, and I like the whole album just fine, but not-surprisingly it's yet to capture me like Geogaddi did (the first time I listened, too).

Really catching groovy tunes like Sunshine Recorder, Alpha and Omega, and Dawn Chorus. Then there were tracks that were so incredibly trippy and alien like A is to B as B is to C. Geogaddi is SUCH an incredible album. It's like a journey to different lots of different worlds, meeting strange characters. Like a dream.

I wouldn't say I'm underwhelmed. It will continue to grow on me. I'm glad the brothers didn't repeat themselves. But I will say there were fewer memorable moments upon first listen than there were with Geogaddi. To be fair, it took MHTRTC a while to grow on me too, and I love that album, so we'll see.

[d e n]

the thing is, (and PLEASE DONT READ THIS AS MY TRYING TO JUSTIFY WHY TOMORROW'S HARVEST IS GOOD, I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT)

boards of canada has had an idea and ambition with all the records they've released and they've fulfilled what they set out to do with each one. that must be an amazing feeling.

Music Has The Right To Children - we don't even need to talk about this one.

Geogaddi - they set out to make a record with so many subliminals as "a sort of in-joke" and then did it too damn well and sparked craziness.

Campfire Headphase - they intentionally made a record that would hush the over the top analysis and claims of them being formulaic to let people know they were capable of executing much more. if you read interviews from this era and hear the way they talk about the album and the thought they put into the whole process it becomes deeply apparent... how they describe what they were going for.. it's incredible how well it translates when listening.

so, Tomorrow's Harvest... they said they've known the title of the album since 2006.. they accomplished their vision and that's why it deserves the praise it's getting. For example, they could make Nothing Is Real segue into some intense section with Turquoise Hexagon kinds of vocal samples blasting in from all directions and heavy percussion and that would be gratifying but it would be too easy.

this album is different... the music is insidious i think that's where the real power comes from.

dude, BOC is on some next level shit. I really believe they could hold their own with all the world's legendary, contemporary composers who've won, shit, idk, OSCARS.

but they keep it too real for that

[Torn n Frayed]

TH is ruthlessly efficient.

[lumpenprol]

I'm 39, fan since MHTRTC. I find it pleasant, but musically underwhelming and lacking in fresh ideas. In my mind they've gone from the category "musical gods" to "capable producers" (not to mention slightly smug interviewees)...doesn't mean I'm no longer a fan; I'll continue to look forward to what they'll do next. Compared to other idm acts (Orbital completely lost the plot; Aphex dried up), Boards have fared pretty well. I can see them becoming the "Neil Young" of idm, and I hope they do.

[Spaced]

do you mean lacking fresh ideas for music in general or just for BoC?

surely Jacquard Causeway and New Seeds are breakthroughs for them? there's a touch of jazz twinkling in New Seeds!, never thought i would hear something like that from them.

[w31rd numb3r]

Ian Lambert, from Facebook:

[Opothecary]

Ian Lambert, from Facebook:

so edgy.

[w31rd numb3r]

Ian Lambert, from Facebook:

so edgy.

I'm enjoying TH so much, and this suddenly appeared on my feed; but it's only about different opinions. I would "agree" with his opinion if he could sell me this CD... just sayin.
.
.
...but I'm really interested.

[paultomba]

lol @ that photo!

Anyway for what it's worth, I love it & think it feels the most streamlined of their albums.
It just (to me) rattles past so quickly I tend to keep rewinding it half way.

Compared to, say, Campfire (which I love btw) which always feels like a slog to make it to the end.