Four years after Music Has the Right to Children, Scottish duo Boards of Canada has unleashed one of the most anticipated sophomore efforts in recent memory. BOC’s already established trademark is a compelling ambient-dance hybrid that finds softly manipulated beats over subtle, pitch-shifted melodies. Geogaddi (Warp) is filled with wickedly manipulated vocal samples and anachronistic segues that recall those strange alt.energy commercial spots from the Seventies. Warp Records’ IDM flourishes are spreading to unlikely places, invading the moody songscapes of the UK’s Hood, whose Cold House (Aesthetics) is one of last winter’s overlooked gems. Gentle vocals and dreamy string arrangements invade the subconscious, peppered by drum ‘n’ bass and the edgy psychobabble of eccentric hip-hoppers Why? and Dose One of cLOUDDEAD. Cold House has a worthy mood-pop sequel in L’Atra‘s In the Afternoon (Aesthetics). This brother-and-sister-led combo is joined by several respected Chitown guests, lending a full-bodied elegance that regrettably drags as the arrangements are stripped down. Dragging for nary a moment is the innovative debut from Fog (Ninja Tune). Andrew Broder makes a bid for rookie of the year with his forward sound collages fusing turntablism with indie rock, which at times coalesce into something like a jam session between Smog’s Bill Callahan and Christian Marclay at Cornelius’ studio. Pan American (aka Labradford’s Mark Nelson) is another intriguing one-man operation. His third effort, The River Made No Sound (Kranky), is an arresting pastiche of grainy blips, bleeps, and tone color, using dubby beats as pure building blocks of sound. More playfully organic is Happiness (Temporary Residence) by England’s Fridge. Xylophone, harmonium, electronic beats, and traditional rock instruments are thrown into a randomizer, with the end result never less than pleasant and mildly intoxicating. Similarly pleasing is the glossy & Yet & Yet (Constellation) by Godspeed You Black Emperor! labelmates Do Make Say Think. Cerebral, undulating new-Chicago grooves make for a mellow and fulfilling, if not particularly challenging, listen. The latest Fly Pan Am, on the other hand, is quite a shock to the system. Ceux Qui Inventent N’ont Jamais Vecu(?) (Constellation) kicks out skeletal, broken-machine funk, shrouded in sound glitches before launching into sudden, Can-like rushes of overdriven groove madness. Bloomington, Indiana’s Ativin fails to take the same step forward on Interiors (Secretly Canadian), which follows the same instrumental arc as Explosions in the Sky and Tarentel, but bogs down into a monochrome sameness. Diversity, however, is the hallmark of the new ST 37 limited-edition Nunavut double CD. Longer suites show off the more muted, improvisational side of the local institution, yet poor fidelity narrows its appeal. Seeing the light of day after years of obscurity are a pair of Organum side projects, the 1987 H.N.A.S. album Im Schatten der Möhre, and the 1999 one-off Mimir, featuring Jim O’Rourke and Edward Ka-Spel (both on Streamline). Where the H.N.A.S. is a deranged study in shifty sound collage, Mimir is a gentle wellspring of psychedelic acoustic folk and playfully warped electronics. Get ’em while you can.
This article appears in April 19 • 2002.