Boards Of Canada - Twoism

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 7 / 1 / 2003

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Review

A low key re-release for Boards Of Canada’s first album, initially only available on a small vinyl run. After the leap forward of 'Geogaddi', I initially felt that going back to another album of their earlier style – gentle, loping electronica – would be a little defeatist. Funnily enough, however, this album is far closer to 'Geogaddi' than 'Music Has The Right To Children' and many of the sound effects from 'Geogaddi' actually pop up here. So I can start by saying that this is certainly of interest to music fans not just as a relic of a great band’s early years ,but as a challenging record. You probably know the drill with Boards Of Canada by now. I don’t think they’ll win many new converts with this. It's a love and hate thing, like much electronica. But for people who already like the band there are a number of interesting points to this record. Firstly, it’s a lot more concise than their recent works. Whereas 'Geogaddi' had 22 tracks, only some of which were true songs rather than ditties, this has 8 and all are integral to the record. Secondly, the band seems less sure of their direction, and jump from style to style. Thirdly, as a result of the last point the album feels less structured and less clearly planned, which results in it sounding a little more daring. Finally, it’s probably the most representative album they’ve done, throwing in both the gentle plod of 'Music' and the weirdness of 'Geogaddi' into the melting pot, and it works nicely.

Track Listing:-

1 Sixtyniner
2 Oirectine
3 Iced Cooly
4 Base Free
5 Twoism
6 Seeys Later
7 Melissa Juke
8 Smokes Quantity

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