New Grooves to Chew

There is a trio of bands which I am currently contemplating. They are:

The Beta Band
Mercury Rev
Chiller Twist

Top 25 Psychedelic Records

The May 1999 Issue of NME reported the top 25 Psychedelic Records of All Time as:

1 The Beatles - ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’
2 The Byrds - ‘Eight Miles High’
3 13th Floor Elevators - ‘Slip Inside This House’
4 Pink Floyd - ‘Interstellar Overdrive’
5 Electric Prunes - ‘I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night’
6 Country Joe & The Fish -
‘Electric Music For The Mind And Body’
7 The Beach Boys - ‘Vegetables’
8 Jimi Hendrix -
‘The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam’s Dice’
9 Can - ‘Mother Sky’
10 Happy Mondays - ‘24 Hour Party People’
11 The Stone Roses - ‘I Am The Resurrection’
12 A Guy Called Gerald - ‘Voodoo Ray’
13 The Butthole Surfers - ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man’
14 My Bloody Valentine - ‘To Here Knows When’
15 Primal Scream - ‘Higher Than The Sun’
16 The Orb - ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’
17 The Boo Radleys - ‘Giant Steps’
18 Mercury Rev - ‘Racing The Tide’
19 Spiritualised Electric Mainline - ‘Electric Mainline’
20 The Chemical Brothers - ‘The Private Psychedelic Reel’
21 Olivia Tremor Control - ‘Dusk At Cubist Castle’
22 Super Furry Animals - ‘Radiator’
23 The Beta Band - ‘Three EPs’
24 Boards Of Canada - ‘Music Has The Right To Children’
25 The Flaming Lips - ‘The Soft Bulletin’

Boards of Canada: 2006?

Boardsofcanada.com contains a discography of Boards of Canada's mainstream public releases. Until recently, there were only eight releases available with information in the discography. However, there is now a ninth, empty space with a complete page dedicated to it. There is no information currently present about this future release, but the URL to the release page seems to imply that it will be released in 2006. Also, the item is listed as "coming soon" at the bottom of its information page.

Will this Release Nine be a new single or EP? Might it even perhaps be a remix album? We'll just have to wait and see.

Boards of Canada: The Campfire Headphase (2005)

Boards of Canada: The Campfire Headphase
Label: Warp
Catalog#: WARP CD 123
Format: CD
Country: UK
Released: 2005
Genre: Electronic
Style: Downtempo

Tracklisting:
1. Into The Rainbow Vein (0:44)
2. Chromakey Dreamcoat (5:47)
3. Satellite Anthem Icarus (6:05)
4. Peacock Tail (5:25)
5. Dayvan Cowboy (5:00)
6. A Moment Of Clarity (0:52)
7. '84 Pontiac Dream (3:50)
8. Sherbet Head (2:42)
9. Oscar See Through Red Eye (5:09)
10. Ataronchronon (1:14)
11. Hey Saturday Sun (4:56)
12. Constants Are Changing (1:42)
13. Slow This Bird Down (6:09)
14. Tears From the Compound Eye (4:04)
15. Farewell Fire (8:26)

THE CAMPFIRE HEADPHASE is a return from the darkness of GEOGADDI to a different kind of inspired brilliance which one can call "simply beautiful." You won't find references to Waco or Discordianism or hear darkly disturbing, convoluted voices. Instead, you will hear Eoin's and Sandison's embrace of the simple, beautiful, dazzling things of life. The general feel of TCH is much more relaxed than previous albums. To draw a modest parallel, TCH is to THC as MHTRTC is to LSD. There is less trippiness (although there is still some) and more relaxation and meditation; there remains a personal, dim, analog, dusty, in-your-head feel to every track on the disc, but BoC includes more acoustic instrumentation, specifically guitar, which reminds you that you still have a firm ground in reality.

Yet, this music does almost seem to alter the chemistry of the mind. Boards of Canada know how to pull certain mental strings with their music. For instance, most listeners would never become aware of the fact that many of the chord progressions contained in TCH are based on 5 or 7 beats instead of 4 or 8. This unnatural feature is rare in music, but BoC do an amazing job of making it sound perfectly natural.

Typical of BoC, TCH opens with a warbling prelude, "Into the Rainbow Vein," summoning the listener into the colorful, otherworldly trip that is to follow. BoC state their sound with a dark guitar sample in "Chromakey Dreamcoat", foreshadowing the presence of guitar parts that will stand out through the rest of the album. "Satellite Anthem Icarus", a dreamy, sopoforic guitar-based track, precedes "Peacock Tail", which is perhaps one of the best-formed BoC tracks of all time, building upon layers of rhythm into a enjoyable "headphase".

Several of the songs have short codas on the end which serve as interludes between the tracks, much like the interlude tracks of Geogaddi. "Sherbert Head," one such interlude track, uses a filtration technique which makes the music sound as if it's played through the blades of a fan. This technique, which results in a warm, trippy feel, can also be heard elsewhere on the album.

"Oscar See Through Red Eye", released as a single in September, and "Dayvan Cowboy" are obvious standout tracks on TCH, harkening back to some of the more uptempo tracks from MHTRTC. They are more complicated, containing heaver rhythms. In "Slow this Bird Down," one can easily imagine her/himself flying slowly over some landscape or seascape in the trail of a bird with its wings flapping in slow motion. "Tears From the Compound Eye" has not only one of the most beautiful titles of any BoC track yet released, but halfway through the track one of BoC's most heart-wrenchingly beautiful chord progressions yet comes into play. The closing track is "Farewell Fire." Despite its length and simplicity, it remains gripping to the very end (like Autechre's Vletrmx21). THE CAMPFIRE HEADPHASE fades away in one long, sad, yearning, ever-hopeful expiration.

THE CAMPFIRE HEADPHASE is the BoC album that I will be returning to most until their next release, and proves to be the perfect introductory album to those who haven't yet experienced Boards of Canada. A must have.

Caribou: The Milk of Human Kindness (2005)

Caribou: The Milk Of Human Kindness
Label: Domino USA
Catalog#: DNO050CD
Format: CD
Country: US
Released: Apr 2005
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Leftfield, Downtempo, Indie Rock

Tracklisting:
1. Yeti
2. Subotnick
3. A Final Warning
4. Lord Leopard
5. Bees
6. Hands First
7. Hello Hammerheads
8. Brahminy Kite
9. Drumheller
10. Pelican Narrows
11. Barnowl

This new record from former Manitoba involvee Dan Snaith is a relatively short, naturalistic trip. The track titles, artwork, and music evoke usually-innocent pastel mind-wanderings, complete with background saturation and effects. Several of the tracks are short interludes which despite their short length are very enjoyable to listen to. "Subotnick", "Bees", and "Hello Hammerheads" employ sparse vocals which lend the album a more personal feel. "Lord Leopard" employs a straight hip hop beat to carry a nearly Baroque harpsichord melody, resulting in an ironically catchy product. Other standout tracks include "Drumheller" which is likewise a very short track but is calm and evoking with its soft melodies and unique sixteen beat. "Pelican Narrows" is perhaps the best track, utilizing Four Tet-esque analog acoustics to create a fuzzy, warm, happy feeling.

Perhaps the only negative aspect of THE MILK OF HUMAN KINDNESS is its relatively short length. However, it is certainly a well-worthy purchase.

Recommended.