lumpenprol

word...very curious if acroyear's experience will rub off...

certainly not me, I went in wanting (hoping) to love it. I can be as cynical and grumpy as the worst of us, but I think I come round to giving things their due. I was pretty damn positive about Exai. And, after a period of adjustment, I loved Campfire Headphase. Not sure if I'll end up the same with TH. I've been playing the heck out of it already, though, and my opinion hasn't changed, so I kind of doubt it. I will admit to one thing, I do like to try to intuit things about artists through their work. I like to imagine I can hear their mental state, their level of creativity, how inspired they are. Sometimes I may be wrong. If "BoC-ness" were a substance, I just feel like these tracks don't have a lot of it. BoCness being some sort of otherworldly essence, otherwordly melodies, unexpected musical flourishes that seem to come from a deep well of inspiration. Something that moves me (even in a disturbingly autistic way). The TH tracks are well polished, solid from a workmanlike perspective, but they seem to be missing much of that BoCness. They seem to be playing it safe. Actually, after reading that interview, I think they are probably trying their hardest, but just coming up short. I mean, I just listened to "Music is Math" again. There are things I've never really liked about that track - I think the drums are mixed a bit too strongly, and the way it frays apart at the end isn't my favorite - but that one track is more chock full of ideas, sounds, and mysteries than the entire first half of TH. Really, just re-listen to it. The melody is certainly more developed that almost anything on TH. I guess my crits of the album fall under: 1) several tracks too short, aren't given time to develop; 2) sounds too clean and digital; 3) not many good melodies; 4) some BoC by numbers (Cold Earth); 5) too many arpeggios (seems like every other track, almost); 6) not much element of surprise (I think the only track that really surprised all of us was Palace Posy, right?); 7) despite the theme, lacking that unique BoC sense of "damaged music" or "melodies from damaged minds." 8) trying too hard to be epic. I do really like the stretch of Sick Times-Collapse-Palace Posy. And, if I'm feeling generous, could extend that run through Split-Your-Infinities-Uritual-Nothing Is Real. I don't think those are at quite the same level - Split Your Infinities sounds a bit too much like Shpongle, and Nothing is Real doesn't quite hit the spot somehow, despite the lovely Trails-like repeating melody (maybe drums are too strong, or maybe it's just too long, would work better as an interstitial track...vox are certainly interesting though). I realize I'm being picky but that's the high standard they've set themselves to. On an emotional level, nothing on the album makes me want to exclaim "that's like a window onto my childhood!" or "that's really disturbing!", or "that makes me want to cry" or even "that's a siiiick jam!" It's all a bit safe and samey.

what's with making it personal Kaini? The disappointed folks (self included) should be able to vent without being treated like traitors. I've been a bit surprised that the place most willing to be critical of the album in xtronic.

TH is their least accessible because it sucks (ok ok last time I promise)

agreed, I suspect it's because he's a repressed homosexual who can't step out of the closet. rumors aside, every time I see an interview with him he reminds me of my old gay roommate - look, speech patterns, everything. It's always seemed pretty blatant to me...

what are your favorite shows Obel?

Yeah. What's with all the THC negativity. That was a wonderful album with beautiful melodies. Much more the BOC I've come to know and like. Are you all saying that there is anything on the new album that compares to Peacock Tail, Tears From Thr Compund Eye, Sherbert Head, Satellite Anthem Icarus? That album was insanely good. I think the new album caters more to the Geogaddi crowd for sure. agree.

nahhh

Heh, thanks re: mini-Lumpy! Re: Soderbergh, what I feel is lacking in his films is passion for the subject matter. Yes, he feels like an adequate, serviceable choice. But he doesn't inspire me in the slightest. He even seems to have made a cottage industry out of being "the director you hire to make decent movies on a lean budget." He admits as much, in one interview I saw. He seems like an Eeyore, this kind of glum schlub who has insulated his ego from criticism by only doing "good enough". I remember when he threatened to quit directing too, he just strikes me as this morose guy who should be put out of his misery before he makes another half-decent but utterly forgettable flick. That said. I haven't seen his full body of work, so I am somewhat out of my depth. I did see the Limey years ago and liked it, but I suspect that was largely due to Terence Stamp's great acting.Would like to rewatch. You say "brings truth to his subject matter." Yeah, I'd feel more that way if he showed Magic Mike blowing some GUY for cash. For a movie about sexuality I thought it was actually quite tame, and unrealistic in many ways. You said it failed because the subject matter wasn't interesting, but I disagree, there's always a way to make things interesting. In fact I'd argue Sodebergh usually picks *interesting* subject matter (gf experience, for example), and then kills it with his bloodless, trying-so-hard-to-be-cool-that-I'm-actually-boring approach. Traffic was overly simplistic (that was his, right?). Solaris was *shit* (but I love the original so I'm very hard to please). GF Experience, like most of his films, was periodically engaging but ultimately bland. So, out of the ones of his I've seen, I only rate Out of Sight, the Limey, and the Informant. And I don't think any of them would go on my favorite film shelf. On the first point, could be, I will make a few comparisons. One would be to the Coen Bros, this goes back to my earlier point about passion, actually I often don't really enjoy Coen Bros movies as they can come across very condescending towards their characters, which does nothing for me. I don't enjoy mocking humanity, at all, and it's clear that they do. They often have quite a dry approach in their films, so they are not so far from Sodebergh on the directorial wavelength. But they have one thing he lacks, which is passion. They clearly love what they are doing (most of the time). I don't get the feeling from Sodebergh, he gives me the feeling of this low-energy guy who just gets things good enough and then collects a paycheck. Could be wrong, but that's what I see as a fundamental difference. Even when I don't like a Coen Bros film, I respect their craft. But, I would agree, that if you compare Sodebergh to say, Aronofsky, well I'd probably go with Sodebergh in some cases. Both art-housey types, but yes, Aronofsky's overdramatizing probably bugs me more than Sodebergh's under-dramatizing. If you know what I mean. Edit: and yeah, he did get a good performance out of Damon. I've always kind of like Matt Damon, though.

lol that track is ....so...bad he really is stuck in some sort of feedback loop put a fork in him

i know, I need to get more jolly, my avatar demands it

I suppose he's more experimental, but he does this thing where I feel like he loses interest and focus halfway through his "experimental" scenes. So it's like a bunch of scenes that don't go anywhere and aren't dramatically fulfilling, strung together more or less randomly to make a film.

lol You're not counting the eps, though. That would make it their 7th best release.

people are talking about "I Overflow Man" being at the top of the Jap release....lol

it is little Lumpy! Thanks Alco! And yeah, Limey and Out of Sight were both "pretty good". As was the Informant. But "pretty good" still falls annoyingly short...

I watched Magic Mike or whatever it was a few days ago. I officially hate Soderbergh. At best, he's only adequate, and at worst he inspires pure hate like few other directors I know. His directorial style just broadcasts "I don't give a shit". He's the lamest, most lackadaisical director I can think of. He strives for a certain kind of naturalism, but then he uses some obnoxious yellow filter just because. He somehow seems to embody the New York aesthetic to me; he's like Seinfeld minus the already crappy sense of humor.

Good theory, makes sense to me. I was re-reading some BoC interviews on BoCpages the other day, and was surprised to read that Marcus was responsible for the melody on Everything You Do is a Balloon. I had always figured Mike to be the musical heart of the group, for some reason. I also believe I recall reading Marcus was responsible for Pontiac Dream, one of my favorites off of TCH. So maybe I haven't given the "snowboarding jock" enough credit. Those who have been on watmm long enough may remember my guess that Mike fried his noggin on drugs around the time of Geogaddi, which led to the big shift between everything pre-Geogaddi and everything after. It's just an armchair hypothesis, but I do wonder (no judgment intended, as I've personally fried my brain on drugs and taken several years to recover). Mike has referred to going through a horrible year around that time. I feel like everything up to and including IABPOITC had a very unique feeling, that was not present as much in the later work (and even only partially present in Geogaddi). If you look at earlier pics of the group, Mike often has a kind of mischievous look on his face, but in the later pics he often looks kind of depressed or shell shocked. Could be reading too much into it, I guess. What you said about depression rings true, it might give you insight, but can also rob motivation and productivity.

re-read that, I'm sure you know it to be untrue. If anything their mythos has made it so their music is taken over-seriously, look at twoism. the Dolores recording does have some wind interference but is decent otherwise. For consistency's sake I'm assuming you also raised a stink over people judging the quality of the Old Tunes tracks from casette rips? Oh that's right, nobody raised a stink, because the quality of the music shines through anyway. Edit: if you only want to hear praise, I'll say this: Palace Posy is a standout track.

I do myself a disservice? huh, ok, I'll keep that in mind, #1 fan.

haha, could be, though I think it's quite an easy album to say "meh" about. I wasn't joking actually, I've been listening to the 50 min rip of the Dolores listening party a lot; though it's missing the last couple of tracks, I think I've got a pretty decent sense of the album now (albeit in poor quality). I think they make some kind of baffling choices, in terms of not blending the tracks together well, and cutting tracks off just as they are starting to get good. Will be interesting to see what others think. To me, it's quite a step down from Campfire, though certainly not bad. I don't think it took 7 yrs to make, I think they probably spent a good chunk of time not making music. I really hope the album is sort of a stepping stone, where it gets them back into the groove and inspires them to release more. It feels like that kind of an album, kind of tentative and lacking in confidence, with quite a bit of filler (unusual for BoC).

I'm so excited, only a few days until we can all discuss how much of a disappointment this album is

I'm pretty dang happy with the album, and that's with the poor quality and incomplete version. Good going BoC! It's a weird and enjoyable listen.

Two new reviews (stolen from twoism). Pretty lukewarm: http://www.pagesdigital.com/review-boards-of-canada-tomorrows-harvest/ http://www.theaureview.com/features/first-impressions-boards-of-canada-tomorrows-harvest-2013-lp

lulz nice one on the anagram, silly me didn't see it