Cam Recommends

Like many folks, I considered Boards of Canada’s masterfully dark Tomorrow’s Harvest from the halcyon days of 2013 to be their final statement. With barely a peep in the intervening 16 years, the slow roll of a viral marketing campaign over the last month (with its cryptic VHS mailers and randomly appearing posters) came as a major surprise, so much so that I wasn’t sure it was all real until I actually saw an email arrive from Warp itself proclaiming the imminent release date of LP5 (or six, depending on how your rank Twoism). I’m excited as anyone about new material but even still I’m worried that some BOC fans might have skipped one of their best-ever releases since its buried on streaming platforms under the “Singles & EPs” tag and that’s the stunning little 4 track EP from 2000 called “In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country.” It might actually be the best entry point for a newcomer, even if it’s kind of unfamiliar to long-time listeners. It has a lot of the BOC hallmarks: that woozy production, warped and childlike vocals and an obsession with the underbelly of spirituality. So while you wait for Inferno spend a little bucolic time out in the country…

You want the kind of bass-heavy electronic track that hits hard right at the top, slides into a groove and then just stays hard-hitting for the entire run time, that–holy hell–is over 8 minutes long and you didn’t even notice it? Well, stop reading this and hit play on Nathan Fake’s incredible “Slow Yamaha.” You’re welcome.

Sounding a bit adjacent to those stalwarts of rock/funk instrumental jam sessions, The Budos Band, The Olympians offer generally sunnier tunes but with no less focus on the craft and the overall mission of providing a rollicking good time. Example today is the pretty stunning “California” which sounds somehow both modern and retro, with its clean production and high energy carrying multiple earworm melodies blasted out by muscular horns and a locked-in rhythm section keeping things chugging along nicely. But stay for the incredible guitar solo which isn’t bombastic (indeed there might not be anything more than simple amplification) or anything but still kinda rocks my socks off (like, from a sock-hop). Great stuff.

Though we’ve had a couple great projects from lead singer Nicol Miglis, the last time we heard from open-hearted synth rockers Hundred Waters was all the way back in the beforetimes of 2017. “Takeover” was never included on their mainline albums and resides cozily in the middle of the “Currency” EP. But don’t let its relatively side-lined position fool you: this might be the most emotionally overwhelming and powerful song in the band’s discography (which isn’t lacking for song that make you get into your feelings). Miglis perfectly captures the yearning of for an intimate connection that may or may not happen: “Sideways glances, oh will it pass?//Softer now, your touch, think I’m losing my mind and doubting conversation.” During the chorus the gauzy beats transition to sparkling synths before real drums crash in as the song bursts open like a kaleidoscope. And by the end, it seems, the yearning has become action: “Will it take over now?” becomes “I can take over now” repeated over and over as the song fades into an oceanic ambient mist. 

So, whatever you think you’re going to hear when I write the phrase, “Animal Collective member side project revolving around the hurdy-gurdy,” I can kind of promise it’s not going to be what you think. Eschewing some of the wild experimentation of his other project, Brian Weitz’s Geologist project instead locks into a loopy, psych-rock tinged kind of krautrock that seems beamed in from an adjacent universe where the hurdy-gurdy gained as much prominence as the electric guitar. Listen to the driving album closer “Sonora,” and you’ll either come away with a sense of bafflement or will be completely hooked. You can guess which one describes me. 

Thirteen tracks of unbelievably good chill beats with some ambient/field recording filagree that elevates each one above the standard “lo-fi” video compilation tune. The album, despite being something of a label sampler and featuring as many artists as it does tracks, is still remarkably cohesive as a listening experience. It’s a calming balm of a listen that I’ve found myself coming back to over and over this year so far. For a bit of log-rolling, an observant listener will see that I haven’t posted in quite a while, despite a track record of at least a post a week for the last year or so. I don’t want to agonize too much over it, but my mental and physical health have been all over the place and I’ve found it so, so, so difficult to focus. So, big thanks to Aureolin Winter for sitting at the top of my “to write about” list for the last little while, hopefully, its patience will be rewarding to you as you listen.