The best of Spin Magazine's initial reviews of TH

http://www.spin.com/articles/boards-of-canada-tomorrows-harvest-first-review/

 

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The last time Boards of Canada released an album, dubstep was barely extant, so it's somewhat surprising to hear dubstep's signature lurch turn up here and there, and to realize that they have probably been listening to the same music we have these past eight years; perhaps they don't live in a turquoise bubble-world after all.

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Except there are actual grooves on thing: the flickering candlelight of what people used to call dubstep, the muted hues of the last Moby album, and "Jacquard Causeway," which joins Portishead's Third as evidence that J Dilla's legacy isn't limited to hip-hop.

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But anybody anticipating these guys returning to do away with dubstep and all of its gauche, big dumb fun, or to rightfully claim their throne as kings of chillwave and cloud rap at the same damn time, are just going to shrug.

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The programmed drums — a cheesy layover from IDM — obscure the emotive qualities of these smeary soundscapes, and it's frustrating. Those nebulous globs of broken keyboard buzz and split-wire whirr make the album, and they don't show up enough here. Then again, that no-drums drift is for better and worse, clogging up electronic music right now. Boards of Canada do that style pretty well — but these days, a lot of other mysterioso duos, or just scruffy nerds in their bedrooms with laptops, are doing that pretty well, too.

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Boards are still tied to an understanding of electronic music or "electronica" that thinks it needs to nod to dance even though it doesn't do dance music all that well in the first place.

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Like the legend of the phoenix
'Cept the phoenix didn't break Twitter
What keeps the planet spinning
Are pretentious album rollouts

(Look)

They've
Come too far
To give up
Who they are
So let's
Praise the snarls
And the farts
And the yawns

These guys need to get some more sun
Swell mixture of darkness and dawn
Though I've only heard this thing once
We're up all night to get sleepy

Oneohtrix but not as much fun
Ambient ennui weighs a ton
Happiness is a 3D-print gun
We're up all night to get sleepy

We're up all night to get sleepy
We're up all night to get sleepy
We're up all night to get sleepy
We're up all night to get sleepy

A disintegration loop
Of Madonna's "Live to Tell"
Is the only real specific thought
I can give you at this moment

[The vocoder solo has been canceled]

Jesus christ

:facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:

Did they just write it to provoke people - I really hope that's the case and it's not just some of the most poorly researched journalism I think I've seen in a long time.

Holy Shit. First piece from Spin CEO's 18 year old nephew?

 

"so it's somewhat surprising to hear dubstep's signature lurch turn up here and there," my brain exploded for the first time - I want to know where this "here and there" is. I think maybe the writer was listening to a different album...

 

I want a review of TH from Tycho or Black Moth Super Rainbow.

Edited June 7, 2013 by colunga

"a wobbling whine of warm digital-doing-analog hiss"

 

LOL

Fucking LOL @ anyone thinking there's dubstep in any of TH.

  On 6/7/2013 at 3:33 PM, Araungzeb said:

http://www.spin.com/articles/boards-of-canada-tomorrows-harvest-first-review/

 

  Quote

 

The last time Boards of Canada released an album, dubstep was barely extant, so it's somewhat surprising to hear dubstep's signature lurch turn up here and there, and to realize that they have probably been listening to the same music we have these past eight years; perhaps they don't live in a turquoise bubble-world after all.

 

 

 

That quote is from Philip Sherburne, one of Spin's few seasoned writers and who actually knows what the fuck he's talking about (also gave the album a 9/10). He's the one who coined "microhouse" in 2001 when writing for Wire. When he references dubstep, and likewise, when the Guardian did in their review, he's referring to Burial and Digital Mystikz and Shackleton and the influence the orginal London and Brighton scenes had on other genres. People just assume dubstep refers to post-Skrillex EDM because the term changed meaning so quickly. If someone says an album had a "punk ethos" or "DIY" sound we don't all declare "FAIL" and make Hot Topic and Blink 182 jokes. I find it amazing how lazy and reactionary people can become in their reactions to the use of one word.

 

Anyway that said, the rest of reviews are wank.

  On 6/7/2013 at 4:45 PM, joshuatx said:

 

  On 6/7/2013 at 3:33 PM, Araungzeb said:

http://www.spin.com/articles/boards-of-canada-tomorrows-harvest-first-review/

 

  Quote

 

The last time Boards of Canada released an album, dubstep was barely extant, so it's somewhat surprising to hear dubstep's signature lurch turn up here and there, and to realize that they have probably been listening to the same music we have these past eight years; perhaps they don't live in a turquoise bubble-world after all.

 

 

 

That quote is from Philip Sherburne, one of Spin's few seasoned writers and who actually knows what the fuck he's talking about (also gave the album a 9/10). He's the one who coined "microhouse" in 2001 when writing for Wire. When he references dubstep, and likewise, when the Guardian did in their review, he's referring to Burial and Digital Mystikz and Shackleton and the influence the orginal London and BRISTOL scenes had on other genres. People just assume dubstep refers to post-Skrillex EDM because the term changed meaning so quickly. If someone says an album had a "punk ethos" or "DIY" sound we don't all declare "FAIL" and make Hot Topic and Blink 182 jokes. I find it amazing how lazy and reactionary people can become in their reactions to the use of one word.

 

Anyway that said, the rest of reviews are wank.

 

 

Fixed

 

But yeah, probably this

Pretty accurate imo.

  On 6/7/2013 at 4:45 PM, joshuatx said:

 

  On 6/7/2013 at 3:33 PM, Araungzeb said:

http://www.spin.com/articles/boards-of-canada-tomorrows-harvest-first-review/

 

  Quote

 

The last time Boards of Canada released an album, dubstep was barely extant, so it's somewhat surprising to hear dubstep's signature lurch turn up here and there, and to realize that they have probably been listening to the same music we have these past eight years; perhaps they don't live in a turquoise bubble-world after all.

 

 

 

That quote is from Philip Sherburne, one of Spin's few seasoned writers and who actually knows what the fuck he's talking about (also gave the album a 9/10). He's the one who coined "microhouse" in 2001 when writing for Wire. When he references dubstep, and likewise, when the Guardian did in their review, he's referring to Burial and Digital Mystikz and Shackleton and the influence the orginal London and Brighton scenes had on other genres. People just assume dubstep refers to post-Skrillex EDM because the term changed meaning so quickly. If someone says an album had a "punk ethos" or "DIY" sound we don't all declare "FAIL" and make Hot Topic and Blink 182 jokes. I find it amazing how lazy and reactionary people can become in their reactions to the use of one word.

 

Anyway that said, the rest of reviews are wank.

 

The problem arises when attempting to apply the word dubstep to sounds and styles that existed before dubstep did.

TH - the best dubstep album of the year

  On 6/7/2013 at 4:45 PM, joshuatx said:

 

  On 6/7/2013 at 3:33 PM, Araungzeb said:

http://www.spin.com/articles/boards-of-canada-tomorrows-harvest-first-review/

 

  Quote

 

The last time Boards of Canada released an album, dubstep was barely extant, so it's somewhat surprising to hear dubstep's signature lurch turn up here and there, and to realize that they have probably been listening to the same music we have these past eight years; perhaps they don't live in a turquoise bubble-world after all.

 

 

 

That quote is from Philip Sherburne, one of Spin's few seasoned writers and who actually knows what the fuck he's talking about (also gave the album a 9/10). He's the one who coined "microhouse" in 2001 when writing for Wire. When he references dubstep, and likewise, when the Guardian did in their review, he's referring to Burial and Digital Mystikz and Shackleton and the influence the orginal London and Brighton scenes had on other genres. People just assume dubstep refers to post-Skrillex EDM because the term changed meaning so quickly. If someone says an album had a "punk ethos" or "DIY" sound we don't all declare "FAIL" and make Hot Topic and Blink 182 jokes. I find it amazing how lazy and reactionary people can become in their reactions to the use of one word.

 

Anyway that said, the rest of reviews are wank.

 

Good point, but when he mentioned "that they have probably been listening to the same music we have these past eight years," I assumed the type of dubstep he was talking about is the one that has been popular in that timeframe (specifically '09 on). Also "punk ethos" and "DIY sound" were never really terms that were ever used to describe Hot Topic music to the same extent that "dubstep" has become completely synonymous with the post-Skrillex stuff.

Edited June 7, 2013 by Araungzeb

  On 6/7/2013 at 4:45 PM, joshuatx said:

When he references dubstep, and likewise, when the Guardian did in their review, he's referring to Burial and Digital Mystikz and Shackleton and the influence the orginal London and Brighton scenes had on other genres. People just assume dubstep refers to post-Skrillex EDM because the term changed meaning so quickly.

*slaps forehead* Damnit, you're exactly right and I've brought up that exact point to people in the past too - It's my fault for not knowing the credibility of the reviewer

*never mind*

Edited June 7, 2013 by Aces

I don't think it sounds like pre-skrillex dubstep either...

I still think the review is laughable/abominable. Trying to compare it to all this other trendy shit without taking it on its own merit.

  On 6/7/2013 at 5:12 PM, Araungzeb said:

 

  On 6/7/2013 at 4:45 PM, joshuatx said:

 

  On 6/7/2013 at 3:33 PM, Araungzeb said:

http://www.spin.com/articles/boards-of-canada-tomorrows-harvest-first-review/

 

  Quote

 

The last time Boards of Canada released an album, dubstep was barely extant, so it's somewhat surprising to hear dubstep's signature lurch turn up here and there, and to realize that they have probably been listening to the same music we have these past eight years; perhaps they don't live in a turquoise bubble-world after all.

 

 

 

That quote is from Philip Sherburne, one of Spin's few seasoned writers and who actually knows what the fuck he's talking about (also gave the album a 9/10). He's the one who coined "microhouse" in 2001 when writing for Wire. When he references dubstep, and likewise, when the Guardian did in their review, he's referring to Burial and Digital Mystikz and Shackleton and the influence the orginal London and Brighton scenes had on other genres. People just assume dubstep refers to post-Skrillex EDM because the term changed meaning so quickly. If someone says an album had a "punk ethos" or "DIY" sound we don't all declare "FAIL" and make Hot Topic and Blink 182 jokes. I find it amazing how lazy and reactionary people can become in their reactions to the use of one word.

 

Anyway that said, the rest of reviews are wank.

 

Good point, but when he mentioned "that they have probably been listening to the same music we have these past eight years," I assumed the type of dubstep he was talking about is the one that has been popular in that timeframe (specifically '09 on). Also "punk ethos" and "DIY sound" were never really terms that were ever used to describe Hot Topic music to the same extent that "dubstep" has become completely synonymous with the post-Skrillex stuff.

 

 

Exactly, it's just such a slippery slope to even discuss it. It's like the perpetual debate and controversy over the term "IDM"

 

Honestly, I'm not even so sure Sherburne nor the Guardian should of brought it up. So I'm a bit more on the fence about it. But I did need to get that perspective off my chest.

 

And last review, good god, just annoying as fuck. Sometimes it seems music "journalists" are the ones who care the least about music.

What needs to be brought up instead of dubstep is hauntology (I saw Ghostbox recordings mentioned and even bringing up chillwave makes more sence) which is really I think the recent musical/artistic trend relevant to Tomorrow's Harvest, but oh well.

Edited June 7, 2013 by joshuatx

Definitely. I have a feeling those were the artists referenced by the group in their guardian interview

  On 6/7/2013 at 6:46 PM, Gocab said:

I don't think it sounds like pre-skrillex dubstep either...