LP5 - Inferno

[Alvin]

Re Inferno: Hmm, what happened to the happy nature guys with the nostalgia tunes?

[Cernunnos]

What a great album, super dark, sad and moody.

[Ottomatik]

Just had my first listen, and what a trip. The production is phenomenal. They're really pushing sonic boudaries here, some tracks are weird as fuck but in such a good way. I wonder how many psychoacoustic effects were used.

It felt slightly less cohesive as a whole than Geogaddi or TH though, but more listens are probably required to fully appreciate it.

Anyways, it was really worth waiting 13 years. Thank you Mike & Marcus for this exceptional music.

[♄ope keeper]

For years - since Kraftwerk actually - electronic music has been associated with science fiction, futurism, cyberspace, technology, a world of robots and machinery. Your music seem to be a reaction to all that: it's not shaping the future, but recapturing the past - with a child-like innocence. Is that a correct interpretation? How important is the child-like innocence in this.

Mike: "I think you're quite right, and to us the association of electronic music with science fiction and futurism is a cliche. It's a really corny, dated, unsophisticated way of thinking. And yet most current electronic artists still seem to fall into that trap. It might have been original in the 1970's when Kraftwerk were at their peak, but not now. For us, the technological aspect of our music goes as far as the studio recording techniques we use, but we don't let the technology dictate the purpose of our art to us. Too many electronic bands get carried away with the influences of computers and the internet and other technology, and they end up using that as their sole inspiration because at the end of the day that's all they do. So they let their song-titles and themes be direct references to current technological buzzwords or fashions, and to us that's a total lack of imagination. They're geeks obsessed with equipment and computers and ultimately it's become fucking predictable and boring. They should go out and live. Or travel around or something, get some real ideas, and real emotions. I mean, we too are interested in technology and science, but our music is influenced by much further-reaching ideas than that. And it's not just about recapturing the past. We've touched upon the theme of lost childhood a few times because it's something personal to me that gives me real inspiration through its sadness. I think sometimes the best way to get inspiration is to face up to the things that make you very sad in your life, and use them."

[MindElevation]

Just listened. I'm blown away. Incredible. Up there with their very best work in my opinion. Wow.

[Cupz]

Yeah holy cow I am speechless

[Quadrivium]

Bloody hell, lads - this marketing campaign is getting out of hand:

Wildfire tackled in Pentland Hills

2026 Spring Fire

[Gazebo4]

Just finished my first listen and well it's a lot to take in for sure. I don't even know what to say, I'm kind of feeling a bit weird after listening to it on my headphones lol.

As someone else said they really pushed some musical landscapes' boundaries here. I'm just surprised by many tracks, in a good way. This might sound strange maybe but the worst that could happen was for me to instantly like everything as that would mean there wouldn't be much depth and it would all be too familiar. Some tracks sounded wonderful immediately for me, especially the second to last one I think (I didn't watch the track titles when I played the whole thing) my god that was fucking GORGEOUS, but most of them were just weird and unexpected and different but most of all otherworldly interesting. Some tracks were super in your face as well with lots of vocal stuff and may I say even a bit abrasive in a way, which is unlike most of their other stuff. But I'm so happy they made something completely different from their other works, I really appreciate that and I'm so excited to listen to it again tomorrow! This is going to be a grower for sure.

Oh yeah and I feel stupid to forget to mention the production quality, holy smokes this sounds so fucking lush and clean and full and crisp, etc, etc.

[Cupz]

Jholy smokes this sounds so fucking lush and clean and full and crisp, etc, etc.

How they got so much space in the mix, while at the same time feel so incredibly close and intimate is beyond me. Definitely gonna use some of this record as eq/mixing/mastering reference to reset my ears from now on.

[KINGofCRA5H]

Marvelous

[shinealight]

Alright, I’m gonna stand up and say it. This is there best album. This is the one I’ve been waiting for since I first heard them in 1998. It’s the album I always wanted them to make but, thought they never would.

I’ve always wanted them to lean hard in to the trippy hypnotic stuff. There’s glimpses of it throughout their discography, the dark lit futuristic sound of June 9th, when telephasic workshop is at its crescendo, the off kilter sound of gyroscope, the last part of split your infinities. My friend and I used to have discussions about this, ‘why don’t they make an album where just totally go for it and lean in to that sound?’

Well, for me, they’ve finally done it. It’s sad in a way, I can’t help but feel that the reason they released this album now is because it’s a parting gift. Finally giving long time hardcore fans what they always wanted as they say goodbye.

There are so many parts of this album that just transport me to boc land and feeds me boc shaped things!

This album makes me think of being at a festival, it’s 4am, the main stages all finished hours ago, you wander around half coming down, half still tripping and find a stall selling chai tea run by a couple of hippies. They have a sound system blasting music, this is the album that’s playing.

I feel like the only reason to not put out a new album is because we might shortly be in the inferno the album portends so it may not make sense conceptually to put out another album in the upcoming dystopia. They sound so fresh in a lot of ways, and it has reinvigorated the fanbase, what must it do to them as musicians to be getting such an amazing reception? They must have come up with a bunch of other good track ideas/write. An album so balls to the wall as this deserves a companion ep

[KINGofCRA5H]

New background image on the Boards site!
https://boardsofcanada.com/

and saved.

there was a poster in a thread here that I saw within the last couple days that I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE saved but I didn't, the poster shared all the latest background images that they've used on their site recently. Does anyone know where I can find them?

[akirako]

I'm really enjoying it. I'm surprised by how upfront the vocal samples are, and by how sharp some parts of the production are, as in not fuzzy and warbly. I do think it seems far less forbidding and messed up than their earlier stuff, despite the dark themes. There still are weird voices in the background but I feel it's a more transparent album than Geogaddi? At any rate I've never being able to get into their more pastoral side so I'm ecstatic.

[akirako]

I'm really enjoying it. I'm surprised by how upfront the vocal samples are, and by how sharp some parts of the production are, as in not fuzzy and warbly. I do think it seems far less forbidding and messed up than their earlier stuff, despite the dark themes. There still are weird voices in the background but I feel it's a more transparent album than Geogaddi? At any rate I've never being able to get into their more pastoral side so I'm ecstatic.

Actually, I'm curious about whether you feel this one is scary. I haven't listened to Geogaddi in years because it's just too scary for me, but I don't know if it's because I was maybe 14 or 15 when I first listened to it, because of my personal fears, or because their music has really become less menacing. Even The Campfire Headphase feels dangerous to me: I remember one occasion where I fell asleep to it and woke up terrified during either Oscar See Through Red Eye or Slow This Bird Down. I noped out so hard I think that might the last time I tried listening to that album. I also remember sitting in an empty train at 5 or 6 in the morning, waiting for it to start, and trying to listen to Geogaddi. I noped out during Gyroscope if I remember correctly.

[turquoise70]

I'm a simple creature; my favorite band puts out their first new LP in 13 years, I stay up all night listening to it on repeat

[Gazebo4]

I'm a simple creature; my favorite band puts out their first new LP in 13 years, I stay up all night listening to it on repeat

Haha I hear you! I've blocked my whole weekend so I can listen to it a lot on my own.

[harpoon dodger]

Listened late last night, and oh man. MIND = BLOWN

It sounds like an encompassment of all their past work, but also something entirely new. I love it. Right up there with Geogaddi for me as some of their best output. Had more time to listen to individual tracks today...hard to pick a favourite because they're all so damn good! The production is top-notch..it sounds almost LIVE at times, dangit! Love that.

Gonna be a marvelous weekend getting to know it!

[Glen_Glog]

I found a tree cathedral in the woods [pic] and listened to the album on headphones sitting in a chair; Capricorn and Father and Son, and Memory Death / The Word were head explodingly awesome, I honestly can't remember the rest of the album I'll have to check it out again when the vinyl gets here. All of this is so aligned with my preferences its very spooky. Loved the callbacks. I think there was a more disturbed cover of Dayvan Cowboy in there. Thanks again lads!

Capricorn was like an unwitting little baby AI playing with memory blocks, so happy to make a word

[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.

[Rorsach]

I'm really enjoying it. I'm surprised by how upfront the vocal samples are, and by how sharp some parts of the production are, as in not fuzzy and warbly. I do think it seems far less forbidding and messed up than their earlier stuff, despite the dark themes. There still are weird voices in the background but I feel it's a more transparent album than Geogaddi? At any rate I've never being able to get into their more pastoral side so I'm ecstatic.

Actually, I'm curious about whether you feel this one is scary. I haven't listened to Geogaddi in years because it's just too scary for me, but I don't know if it's because I was maybe 14 or 15 when I first listened to it, because of my personal fears, or because their music has really become less menacing. Even The Campfire Headphase feels dangerous to me: I remember one occasion where I fell asleep to it and woke up terrified during either Oscar See Through Red Eye or Slow This Bird Down. I noped out so hard I think that might the last time I tried listening to that album. I also remember sitting in an empty train at 5 or 6 in the morning, waiting for it to start, and trying to listen to Geogaddi. I noped out during Gyroscope if I remember correctly.

Inferno is definitely a return to a kind of darkness that they haven't had in their music since Geogaddi, but I think the albums are dark in different ways. Geogaddi is creepy and evil-sounding, Inferno is more urgent and menacing.

I know what you mean about Geogaddi being scary, even though I think that album is a masterpiece, I really have to prepare myself to listen to it (not at night for example, lol). I definitely don't find Inferno to be "scary" in that same vein, aside from a few select creepy moments. The creepiest sounding track to me is the last one.

For what it's worth I consider TCH to be the only BoC album that is not creepy at all, aside from Slow This Bird Down, maybe.