The Musiquarium

Genres: IDM, Downtempo, Hauntology, Ambient

The Musiquarium’s Inferno Review Score: 8.5 out of 10

After 13 years of silence from the Scottish electronic duo, cryptic VHS tapes were mailed out to fans, signalling a new era of Boards of Canada, which was quickly-followed by the release of the lead single, Prophecy at 1420MHz..

When Boards of Canada dropped their last album, Tomorrow’s Harvest, it foresaw a dystopia that we weren’t quite living in yet, but 13 years later, the same cannot be said. Between pandemics, immigration crises, the rise of artificial intelligence, culture wars, genocides, political corruption, social injustices, a widening wealth gap, and a plethora of other issues, the world has changed A LOT in the past 13 years.

While not necessarily their darkest or bleakest album musically (there’s already enough darkness in the world), Inferno is still the sound of uncertainty, with Boards of Canada painting a sonic backdrop with the canvas of the modern world, which includes both a sliver of hope, as well as a more sinister cynicism.

As usual, Inferno is a masterwork of electronic music, and quite possibly the duo’s best album since Geogaddi.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view Boards of Canada on Discogs.

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