I don't usually have such high expectations for new for new albums from artists or bands I've always followed, but for Boards Of Canada, yes i do. It's not often that in 30 years of recording, a band manages to consistently maintain such a high level of quality and never make mistakes, especially when, as in the case of BOC, they have such a strong and distinctive aura surrounding them.

Let's take a quick look at the duo's recording history and all its nuances, because it's one of those cases where the concept sometimes surpasses the music itself. What continues to fascinate those who approach the Boards Of Canada project for the first time is its conceptual evolution, slow and progressive, even if not always linear.
It was especially after the release of their second album, "Geogaddi", that a sense of mystery began to surround the duo, leading to that particular style of music labeled as"hauntology". The Sandison brothers, with their first two EPs, "Twoism" and "Hi Scores", already brought a unique approach to sampling: they were among the first to exploit the technique in such a unique way by treating it as the primary means of communication for their songs, sourcing almost exclusively snippets of phrases from cartoons, children's programs, documentaries and university studies, that then get immersed in abstract and atmospheric soundscapes and becoming the only truly tangible element.

The brothers are fairly known: they don't give many interviews and do not perform live except on very exclusive occasions. Five old demo tapes were discovered on their official website, of which only very few small excerpts of a couple songs are known, complete with titles, covers, tracklists and song lengths. Possible CD reissues occured after the duo officially made their recording debuts are mentioned even. And while "Music Has The Right To Children", their debut album, remains musically very cohesive and mostly draws audiences for its compositions, "Geogaddi" is the true moment when the atmosphere expands and becomes increasingly layered. From this record on, the duo's image begins to be almost mystified, and attempts are made to uncover eventual subliminal messages through the samples used in the songs, giving life to the mysterious concept surrounding the album. "The Campfire Headphase" is a brief return to earth, where music takes the lead over the concept, interrupted by "Tomorrow's Harvest"'s post-apocalyptic atmospheres which bring back that mystical imagery built on the two brothers with their previous works.

Fast forward to today, 13 years later, with "Inferno".
Promoted in true BOC style, with mysterious VHS tapes sent in small quantities only to those who recently purchased merch from the Warp Records shop, and posters plastered around the world, complete with the band's logo in the bottom right corners. The hype is immense, especially after the release of "Prophecy At 1420 Mhz", the first single, which was somewhat disconcerting for those who remember Boards Of Canada's more abstract vibes. The focus is once again on the actual music, now more than ever. The beat, which has kind of a synthwave-y flavor, is the most prominent element and becomes the backbone of the whole track. The audience is inevitably divided between those who prefer the more "ephemeral" BOC and those who prefer the more tangible and real ones.

So the album comes out and... it's all there.
It's not properly conceptual like "Geogaddi" or "Tomorrow's Harvest" might've been, even though lots of reflections about religious life and indoctrination are made (mostly through sample choice as usual), but it still features many of those more abstract and layered moments I earlier mentioned in their previous works. What's most striking upon first listen howewer, is a maniacal attention to sound design in a way BOC never really did before. As i said, the use of sampling is always highly experimental and evocative, and now even much more musical than usual. "Father And Son" and "The Word Becomes Flesh" are the best examples of it: the vocal samples, taken from a 1971 BBC TV program called 'Man Alive' and from an introduction to an experiment conducted at Indiana University's Audio-Visual Center in 1983, are broken down and reconstructed following a precise rhythmic pattern, becoming effectively part of the songs' rhythm section themselves. "Naraka" features tribal rhythms the duo has never particularly experimented with, while "Prophecy At 1420 Mhz", "Blood In The Labyrinth" and "All Reason Departs" all feature elements drawn from Indian music: a very characteristric flute melody in the song intro in the first case, a peculiar sitar riff and a "folky" vibe in the second, a rhythmic section relying almost entirely on tablas in the third. All never-heard-before instruments in the brothers' previous works. There also are the trademark 'ambient' moments and interludes of Boards Of Canada, such as "Age Of Capricorn", and "Deep Time", and more generally, sounds and harmonic progressions known to who already experienced the duo's production marks.

"Inferno" then, certainly does not disappoint, and in fact at times surprises even those familiar to BOC's recording history.
It does feel like their most complete album, but it doesn't follow a linear concept, which makes it feel quite bland at times. Certain harmonic solutions, as unique as they are, doesn't feel memorable. "Inferno" is not that far from what a Boards Of Canada fan might expect from them in 2026, despite what "Prophecy At 1420 Mhz" hinted at when first released. But it's always an interesting listening experience when BOC are involved, and in the end, it was worth the wait and the curiosity. Well done Mike, well done Marcus. You didn't disappoint.