I think there are several aspects speaking for an old mixtape by Boards Of Canada and others don't.
Pro BoC:
1. Tonal matches
There are some sounds that appear on later BoC songs. First one I recognised is the sequenced synth that fades in at 3:53 which has a very similar tone character to the sequencer synth in Finity.
Than there is this drone track starting at 18:06 which has the LFO Noise in it which is close to the LFO Noise on Diving Station. The "covers" of Boquarant and Seeya Later seem for many of you be THE reason that this tape is fan made. In the Boquarant "cover" the lead synth sounds less detailed than Boquarant but the resonating rhodes have almost the same tonal character. The Seeya Later "cover" is incredible close to the original. The Subbass sounds exactly like the Subbass on Seeya Later. Than there comes in this highly significant detuned resonating pad/lead synth. This sound is so specific, it's extremely unlikely that someone else is able to recreate this sound and hitting the tonal character so close. It's not hard to make a synth that acts like this, I'm a music producer with lot of experience, I think I know what I'm talking about but it will sound slightly different. You can hear this when you listen to covers like the Roygbiv Cover by Peter Carpenter. It's detailed and comes close to the original. He's hitting every note but the tonal character of his instruments still is quite different to the original Roygbiv by BoC.
I'm not that super familiar with all Old Tune Tapes by BoC as I'm with their full length albums but I'm sure there are more examples hidden on this VHS tape of sounds with a similar tonal character to sounds and instruments from BoCs Old Tunes.
2. The whole sketchy style of this tape fits their style used on their Old Tunes. There are similar cuts and use of samples from ads or TV shows. With their Old Tunes they showed that as teenagers they made this kind of music. There are probably hundreds of sketchy tunes lying around someone's basement on an old cassette which they got as a close friend by BoC before BoC started to officially release albums on Warp Records.
3. Someone posted this before and it's more of a gut feel argument than an objective consideration but I feel the same and I think it's an important one. This person said that these tunes here give him a feeling that only Boards Of Canada is able to make him feel. I have the same. On this VHS tape are some tracks that are resonating deeply with my soul and triggering weird feelings in my subconscious which only Boards Of Canada is able to.
4. Not much people are able to copy the unique sound by Boards Of Canada. There are simply not many people who could copy their music coming so close to their sound and those tonal characters. I know there are some people like Christ., µ-Ziq, Tycho, Casino Versus Japan, Loess or the Cult 48 guess by another comment who make music similar to BoC but it's just similar. They have very own sub-styles and if it was one of them you'd hear! Cult 48s style comes closest to this tape but not close enough. Their beats are more layered, with a much heavier use of glitch effects. Their melodies are more complicated. The melodies on this tape are much more direct.
It's just really improbable that out there is an unknown talent that is able to create a vhs tape like this. It's simply more probable that this tape is by Boards Of Canada themselves.
Contra BoC:
1. Lot of these tracks sounds like BoC but other parts just doesn't sound like them at all.
1.a. This organ sound starting at 11:26 and the way it's played, the rhythm is very untypical for BoC. Also the drums have an impactful element in them which sounds too heavy for a BoC tune. On the other hand almost every other instrument in this track sounds a lot like BoC.
1.b. This whole guitar track starting at 20:18 sounds nothing like BoC. They didn't used guitars back than, certainly not in such a pop-song style. Also this sequenced poly synth has a filter automation which sounds too advanced. And this whole song has some pop-styled transitions which doesn't sound like BoC at all. In my opinion this track is the most suspect, not the "covers". Only way I could think of BoC making such an untypical track is them being teenagers in love with the unreachable, popular girl on their high school and trying to make a less weird and more pop-styled track to impress her. ;D
Neutral arguments:
1. Some comment it's unlikely that an old VHS tape by our favourite Scottish brothers appears in the US. Why not. They gave cassette tapes to family and friends. Of course it's possible one of their family members or friends lived in the US and over the years this VHS tape found it's way to a thrift store cause someone decided to tidy up his attic. In my opinion a mere geographical argument has no weight.
2. Some argue that this is a fanmade scam trying to build up a mystery so that his fanmade music gains a lot of attention. What a shitty promotion would that be. If you want attention for your own project, it's dump to copy the sound of another famous band just to make everyone think it could be them. You would want the whole world to know it's you making those tracks.
Yes maybe in some weeks someone is disclosing the secret saying it all was his work with a devilish laugh but I really doubt that someone is trying to promote his own stuff in such a devious way nowadays.
I might be wrong but at the end of my analysis I think the pro arguments predominant the contra arguments. I think this VHS tape has some real Boards Of Canada stuff on it but still I have some doubts left.
If you liked my analysis I would like to ask you to check out my own music. I released an album highly inspired by BoC, Aphex Twins Selected Ambient Works and some clearly hearable Shoegaze influences a year ago called "tales of a beautiful life" but it got lost in the depths of the Internet and gained no attention which was quite frustrating. So I would be grateful if some BoC fans would check it out cause I think people who love Boards Of Canada would appreciate my music.
https://nordsun.bandcamp.com/Gesendet von meinem SM-G975F mit Tapatalk
