"In case of EMO break glass." Seriously, how many times have you heard a record and thought, well, instrumentally these guys are great and then some whiny punk face fucks the microphone and ruins it all for you. Boards of Canada with Trans Canada Highway have successfully crafted an instrumental, enigmatic landscape of swells and super novas blissfully blending the down tempo and experimental genres.
"Dayvan Cowboy" is undoubtedly the strongest track on this EP from Warp Records. A soundtrack for driving through the damp Scottish highlands, conceivably a lifelong journey from one damp climate to another could've inspired this "song" from Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin. The "Odd Nosdam Remix" of Dayvan Cowboy is a far cry from its original form, feel and sound - perhaps the only thing that ties the two together is the title. "Left Side Drive" finds itself not too far placed from the bonus track on a Tricky record, really exploring the ways in which you can make icicles hang off the edge of a keyboard. "Under the Coke Sign" almost has a dark ethereal feel to it and seems to have been composed to a visual element--a scene from an "art house" flick, a simple passing of life from a park bench or again the image of driving through grasslands in the early morning with condensation on the windshield.
This duo's grasp of instrumentation and aural fornication have created a thought provoking composition. The flurry of "you tube" video remixes to their tracks are testament to the fact that there are a lot of people out there driving in the early morning, through damp green pastures that have the sound system turned to "11" with Trans Canada Highway" bleating through the diaphragm of the car stereo.
Not for everybody, but then again if you open your mind the music represents so much around you. |