Campfire Headphase, The [Digipak] - Boards Of Canada

...Record label says that "The Campfire Headphase has already achieved critical acclaim to rival its predecessors. What defines this album from previous work is Boards' desire to simply make a melodic, beautiful record. Playing out like a road movie, The Campfire Headphase is a dense and intricate collection of music, immersing the listener in kaleidoscopic swathes of spacious live instrumentation and trademark isolated chords of sound. Here, Boards ...
...of instruments, all of which they played themselves" but what does all that mean????????

Take "Chromarkey Dreamcoat" with its loop of a heavily treated with electronics acoustic guitar played with some slight violence, backed by swooping and burbling synths, and a hip hop drum type thing going on, is a prime example of what this album has to offer, relaxing, atmospheric and ever so slightly disturbing. Whilst a lot of ... more

As a man possessed by a new found love of electronica this Album was purchased upon a whim, I had heard and read lots of good stuff about Boards of Canada and it can in a rather sexy digipack, and that is a major selling point in my book. Also I am of the firm belief that weird ambient electronic scoundscapes is the way of the future and I want to be in on it before the hateful NME gets there.

The Record label says that "The Campfire Headphase has already achieved critical acclaim to rival its predecessors. What defines this album from previous work is Boards' desire to simply make a melodic, beautiful record. Playing out like a road movie, The Campfire Headphase is a dense and intricate collection of music, immersing the listener in kaleidoscopic swathes of spacious live instrumentation and trademark isolated chords of sound. Here, Boards have experimented with unfiltered analogue tones from a diverse range of instruments, all of which they played themselves" but what does all that mean????????

Take "Chromarkey Dreamcoat" with its loop of a heavily treated with electronics acoustic guitar played with some slight violence, backed by swooping and burbling synths, and a hip hop drum type thing going on, is a prime example of what this album has to offer, relaxing, atmospheric and ever so slightly disturbing. Whilst a lot of electronic music can come across as soulless this track and the rest of the album seems drips with soul (not soul music, but soul itself) and even better 2 tracks into the beastie and I am sold on it. "Satellite Anthem Icarus" explores further the territories between Acoustic Guitar and atmospheric electronics and is ever so slightly disturbing too.

Whilst listening to this album I have the chase sequences from the all time classic road move "Vanishing Point" rallying through my minds eye in slow motion. This is reinforced by a myriad of sound and "84 Pontiac Dream" which would go along with the scene from the aforementioned film just after where Kowalski rams the road block and goes out in a blaze of glory. The faces of the onlookers running through my mind in slow motion.

Enough of obscure drug and metaphor filled road movies that everybody should watch, Boards of Canada have made a fine album here, and fans of Brian Eno, Robert Fripp and their ilk would be well advised to go and have a good listen to this beastie.
 

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