Key Takeaways
- Inferno is Boards of Canada’s first full‑length release in 13 years, arriving amid high expectations from their influential back‑catalogue.
- The album continues the duo’s signature blend of nostalgic analog synths, hip‑hop‑derived beats, and eclectic sampled media, now tinged with religious and existential themes reminiscent of Dante’s Inferno.
- While some tracks showcase inventive beatless textures and expanded instrumentation (guitars, AI‑like vocals, sitar), many beats are criticized as plodding and uninspired, detracting from the overall impact.
- Highlights include the ambient, hymnal “Age of Capricorn,” the eerie interlude “Acts of Magic,” and the crowd‑laden “The Process,” whereas tracks like “You Retreat in Time and Space” feel like generic hold‑music.
- Critics acknowledge the duo’s enduring ability to evoke “corrupted nostalgia” but argue that Inferno often feels stuck in the past, eclipsed by more adventurous contemporaries.
Background and Anticipation
This marks Boards of Canada’s first studio album in thirteen years, a long‑awaited return for the Scottish brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin. Since their 1995 debut EP Twoism, the duo has cultivated a instantly recognizable sound that fuses the heavy gait of classic hip‑hop beats with spectral ambient vistas, often sourced from vintage public‑television clips and other nostalgic media. Their work has left a deep imprint on genres ranging from US cloud‑rap to the UK’s hauntological scene, earning admiration from filmmakers such as Adam Curtis and Ben Wheatley. Consequently, Inferno arrived under a spotlight of both reverence and scrutiny, with listeners eager to see whether the duo could recapture their earlier magic or reveal signs of creative stagnation.
Conceptual Framework and Religious Imagery
The album’s title alludes to Dante’s Inferno, suggesting a journey through spiritual deliverance and damnation. Several tracks directly engage with religious motifs, though the treatment varies in tone and depth. “Father and Son” chop‑s up voices of people experiencing crises of faith into a light‑funky rhythm, a maneuver that some might find playful while others deem it callow and unfunny. “The Word Becomes Flesh” repurposes an old educational video on human embryology, turning it into body‑popping electro that feels more like a jab than a sincere celebration of transubstantiation. The appearance of sampled Hare Krishna chanting on “Naraka” and the sitar twang on “Deep Time” risk veering into lazy orientalism, unless interpreted as a deliberate critique of Eastern spirituality. A more pointed commentary emerges on “All Reason Departs,” where a Christian nationalist treatise is pitched into a demonic whisper, offering a starker, if still ambiguous, examination of faith‑driven militancy.
Musical Evolution and Expanded Palette
On the sonic front, Boards of Canada experiment with a broader instrumental palette than on previous releases. The lead single “Prophecy at 1420 MHz” introduces guitars that recall the post‑rock sensibilities of fellow Scots Mogwai, signaling a willingness to step outside their usual synth‑centric comfort zone. “Somewhere Right Now in the Future” drifts into drumless dream pop, while “Into the Magic Land” channels the textured instrumentalism of Tortoise—though it lacks that band’s characteristic swing. Elsewhere, the duo updates core BOC signatures with satisfyingly fat synthwave lines that cut across tracks such as “Arena Americanada” and “Hydrogen Helium Lithium Leviathan.” These additions show that the brothers are not merely rehashing old formulas but are attempting to integrate new timbres and structures into their established aesthetic.
Rhythmic Shortcomings
Despite these expansions, the album’s rhythmic foundation often falls flat. Many beats are described as wretchedly pedestrian, plodding along in dreary, funk‑less steps that undermine the atmospheric potential of the surrounding synths and samples. The nadir arrives with “You Retreat in Time and Space,” which evokes the bland, looping hold‑music of a broadband provider—a stark contrast to the duo’s earlier knack for crafting intricate, trip‑hop‑inflected grooves. In their prime, Boards of Canada excelled when they employed a light‑touch version of those hip‑hop beats (e.g., “Kid for Today”) or ventured into entirely different rhythmic modes, such as the proto‑dubstep feel of “Amo Bishop Roden” from the 2000 EP In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country. The absence of such inventive percussion on much of Inferno leaves many tracks feeling stagnant and uninspired.
Standout Beatless Moments
When the duo strips away the conventional beat, the results are frequently more compelling. “Age of Capricorn” sets a priestly sermon before a vast, Coldplay‑scale chiming ambient backdrop, marrying hymnal melody with a sense of sacred grandeur. “The Process” features an eerily bewildering babble from an AI‑like female voice, set against watery instrumentation and the hum of bustling crowds, creating a disorienting yet fascinating soundscape. The brief 78‑second interlude “Acts of Magic” delivers a scary throb of noise from the lip of hell’s pit, complete with buzzing flies, serving as a potent, palate‑cleansing burst of tension. These beatless passages highlight Boards of Canada’s strength in crafting immersive, textural environments when they are not constrained by conventional rhythmic structures.
Overall Impact and Listener Reception
Spanning roughly seventy minutes, Inferno is an ambitious statement that will undoubtedly resonate with die‑hard true believers who cherish the duo’s ability to conjure corrupted nostalgia anew. For these fans, the album represents another chapter in a long‑running saga of analog wistfulness and media‑driven melancholy. However, more casual listeners may find the record uneven: the high points are fleeting, frequently overshadowed by stretches of uninspired, plodding beats and samples that feel like recycled clichés rather than fresh explorations. The critique thus positions Boards of Canada as impressive, charismatic figures whose recent output sometimes lacks the substantive innovation that once set them apart, prompting some to view them akin to a cult leader—admired for their aura but questioned for the depth of their current offerings.
Final Verdict and Release Details
Inferno is scheduled for release on Friday, 29 May. While the album succeeds in rekindling certain atmospheric hallmarks of Boards of Canada’s legacy—most notably in its beatless, ambient interludes—it ultimately struggles to maintain consistent momentum across its full length. The record serves as a reminder of the duo’s enduring influence and nostalgic potency, yet also highlights the challenges of evolving a beloved sound without falling back on familiar, albeit less compelling, patterns. For those willing to sift through its mixed offerings, there remain moments of genuine beauty and intrigue; for others, the album may feel like a missed opportunity to push the boundaries that once defined the group’s pioneering edge.