As a form of advanced speculation, I will attempt the difficult task of reviewing Boards of Canada’s 5th full length album ‘Decadesense’ track by track, before it is announced and before any details are known.
1. Chlorine Smile – The album opens with a hint of an acid bass line swimming freestyle amongst slightly eye-stinging synths. Slowly it all fades out like a summer memory.
2. The Missing Reel – Raw beats emerge that skip and repeat, never quite landing where they should. Given there are none of their signature melodies, this piece is likely to be divisive amongst the fan base.
3. In Static We Trust – The atmosphere crackles with electricity, as if you’re struggling to tune into a distant transmission that bursts through in unpredictable patterns. There are some beautiful half-snippets of melodies that peak through the noise.
4. She Knew The Signal – The melody is delicate here, floating just above a bed of soft reverb. Secret harmonies are tinged with something unresolved, the answer to a question you can’t quite remember.
5. Don’t Touch That Dial – A disorienting homage to old TV broadcasts. Like flicking through channels that are all slightly wrong, making you question whether you’ve actually lost your mind or not.
6. Sleeping Antenna Residue – There’s a dreamlike quality here. You’re wandering through the remnants of old signals caught in the ether.
7. Whispers From The Microfiche – A murky, claustrophobic track full of distorted textures that feel like dust (which is 70% human skin by the way). It has an archival quality, as if you’re sifting through layers of forgotten information.
8. Beyond The Glass Curtain – This track carries a surreal, shimmering atmosphere, like looking through frosted glass at a world that’s just out of reach. There’s a persistent rhythm underneath, slow and deliberate, which gives the impression of someone lurking.
9. Ozone Hymnals – A track that feels like an elegy to the natural world. There’s an organic feel to the sound palette, gassy drones and gassy voices blending together in a somber chorus. It’s a hauntingly beautiful piece mourning the slow depletion of something vital in nature.
10. Plastic Horizon – The album closes with a piece that feels synthetic yet vast, like looking out across an artificial landscape. It feels both futuristic and hollow, as though plastic is all that’s left after everything else has crumbled.