Number 9

9. Boards of Canada - In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country

Forget everything you ever thought was dull or ponderous about ambient music, as Boards of Canada return like Aeschylusian heroes -- unbound from a genre that often sounds like a washing machine begging for a swift kick. Pay attention, Radiohead. Boards of Canada traced a disturbed childhood in the arctic, austere Music Has the Right to Children, but here there's a slightly warmer feeling. More central, tweaked vocals add a new dimension to the "hard beats + bittersweet melodies" pattern of the past; songs like the gorgeous, ice-melting "Zoetrope" glide along on simple celestial glimmers without a single bassline in sight. It's as if the band is thawing out in preparation for something. Even when it's hard to tell what that might be. Tiny, exploratory decisions -- no matter. You'll likely want to crawl inside this EP's washing machine for a long, long time. - Allmusic

1. Kid For Today ~ 10.0
2. Amo Bishop Roden ~ 9.7
3. In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country ~ 9.2
4. Zoetrope ~ 8.5
Overall ~ 9.3 ~ ****