Boards of Canada fuse esoteric knowledge and science on Inferno

The electronic duo’s first record in 13 years is thought-provoking, but its retro-futurist soundworld loses steam

Boards of Canada: Inferno review – after 13 years away, their prodigal return is a big disappointment

(Warp) The Scottish electronic duo remain hugely influential – but their new album’s interrogation of religion is dubious, and the drum programming is worse still This is the first album in 13 years from Boards of Canada, and from the opening notes – an analogue synth rising and falling like a sound effect in a forgotten 1960s radio play – you’re thrust back into one of the most instantly recognisable worlds in electronic music. From 1995 debut EP Twoism onward, across four LPs and four more ...

By Ben Beaumont-Thomas