Boards of Canada- In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country EP

It's too bad that this EP is usually overpriced and generally unknown because it makes for a pretty good introduction to Boards Of Canada. It doesn't have the sense of discovery that their first EP Twoism did because that was their first 'official' release and was incredibly hard to find for almost 5 years. What it does have, though, is Boards of Canada at their most ambient and languid while still, somehow, making for a concise 24 minute Cliff's Notes version of one of their albums.

Released at a nice middle distance between 1998's stunning debut Music Has The Right To Children and 2002's darker but, arguably, better Geogaddi, the In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country EP can't really be called a stepping stone release between the two. And it's also not a case of the Scottish duo (recently revealed to be brothers) clearing out the vaults. No, this is one of those rare cases where an EP stands on its own as a musical statement. All of the group's trademarks are here: the 60s/70s keyboards/samplers, obsession with dark/creepy things (most of this EP is given over to allusions to the Branch Davidians), child-like whimsy, and a healthy bedrock of ambient techno a la The Orb.

In A Beautiful Place... is, as stated earlier, Boards of Canada at their most ambient and slow moving. These four tracks still have beats and rhythms, but they are mellow and melodic more than anything else. 'Kid For Today' has a skittering beat and droning keyboards, a narcotic drip of a song that feels like it goes on for 15 minutes but never overstays its welcome. 'Amo Bishop Roden' moves from formless, ethereal chords to a true drum beat before dropping this for an ambient ending. The title track, with the oddly disturbing vocal samples of children and a Branch Davidian slogan spoken by a computer altered voice, is rightfully considered one of the best songs Boards of Canada have ever done. I originally heard this track on the very first All Tomorrow's Parties compilation and it's exactly what made me get into this group. At any rate, its minimalist drum loop, ghostly vocal samples, and synthesizer chords that sound like fog rolling in and out or maybe clouds going overheard on a really windy day...sorry. What I was trying to say was, this is a quintessential BoC song. EP closer 'Zoetrope' has an off-kilter, disintegrating keyboard loop that sounds like a remix of a science film soundtrack from the 80s about astronomy. This is BoC at their most pretty and melodic, and there's something of a child-like beauty and wonder about it, almost heartbreaking in its simple-but-effective sound.

The only real barrier to your entry of this EP should be the price. I've never seen it for cheaper than $7-8 at any store, and it's often more. Though there's a lot to love here--four tracks at 24 minutes isn't a bad meal, musically speaking--I'm not sure it's worth quite that much. However, if you grab it from iTunes or another digital music store like Amazon, it shouldn't cost you anymore than $5. iTunes even has it in the DRM-free iTunes Plus format for $3.96 as I write this. If you're a hardcore fan and simply must have a physical copy, it's good enough to justify $8 or more. The rest of us should be content with the digital copy. And content we will be: In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country is a fantastic EP and a good way to introduce others to this band's unique sound and addictive quality.

In Case You Missed It: Three Films Set To Drum's Not Dead

There’s a growing trend over the last decade or so for bands to include a DVD with the first pressing of their albums, perhaps as a token of esteem to loyal paying fans as well as a shot in the dark to encourage sales. Whether they are documentaries about the making of the album (see Phish’s Specimens of Beauty, which was packed in with Undermind), live footage (see the DVD packed in with Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky), or a mix of the two (see Mogwai’s Mr. Beast DVD), they rarely serve as more than something you’ll watch once or twice and forget about.

At the same time, listening to music while watching visualizers is awesome. Though I only have experience with iTunes, I can tell you that while I (sadly) hardly ever just listen to an album while doing nothing else anymore, iTunes’s visualizer makes for a convenient excuse to watch some psychedelic visuals while focusing on the music at the same time. I am a multi-tasker by nature, so even though staring at a mesmerizing, swirling screen while saliva overcomes the dam of my lips isn’t productive, it is still is something more than staring at my ceiling or keeping my eyes closed for 30~60 minutes at a time.

Packed in with the initial batch of Drum’s Not Dead by the Liars was a DVD containing three different films set to the album: two by band members and one by an honest-to-god filmmaker. This is kind of like a mash-up of the two above ideas because, between the three films, we get lots of pretty artsy visuals, studio footage, live footage, and…uh…a bunch of footage of a snail.

Let’s begin, shall we?? First up is ‘Drum’s Not Bread’, which is the most interesting and entertaining of the three. I won’t go song by song, but let me hit some highlights.

Here we see some semi-typical live footage, albeit clearly not live footage of the song that plays over it.

This is one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever seen: masks pitched somewhere between Mardi Gras and creepy-birdlike-plague-doctor-style-mask, facial hair, haunting eyes, and the screen divided into sectors to complicate matters for the better.

I don’t remember what song this amateurishly animated part goes to, but suffice it to say that everything acts out or illustrates the lyrics and I like cats.

I figured I’d end on a high note—pun definitely intended. In case you’re too sheltered to tell, this is footage of one of the Liars dudes rinsing out his bong, all after brushing his teeth and shaving his moustache. Classy!!

The second and worst film is called ‘Helix Aspersa.’ I suppose if you listened to the album and thought to yourself, “gee, I wish this was set to footage of a snail crawling around, eating stuff, and having lame editing magic done to it” then this would be your favorite thing ever. Also, you need to seek professional help.

Just in case you think I’m lying, here is a snail.

And here is a snail with crazy mirror imaging!!

The third film is a mix of depressingly amateurish film student imagery, live footage, and semi-interesting experiments. The fact it was done by some European guy who is (maybe??) an honest-to-god art film dude is a bit sad.

See?? This is what I mean. You’d be better off with iTunes’s visualizer.

Then there’s this, though it’s only dark and hard to see because I took a screen cap at the wrong moment. Anyway, it’s the clean shaven, impossibly young looking member of Liars screaming into a microphone, which is maybe less interesting than the pictures I could have shown you of odd looking front man guy throwing himself all around the stage in weird outfits.

Last but not least, the honestly-kind-of-cool three shot of the Liars guys while the last song plays. From left to right: clean shaven, impossibly young looking guy who looks around and occasionally seems to respond to questions silently; odd looking front man guy who doesn’t move or say anything for the entirety of this shot; guy-who-looks-like-Viggo-Mortensen who is a bit more affable and emotive.

What conclusion should one take from this project?? Well, it turns out to be just like everything else I mentioned earlier. I’ve only watched these twice since I bought the album almost two years ago. It’s slightly more interesting than the typical DVD pack in but it’s still not as cool as a visualizer.