Tomorrow’s Harvest Boards of Canada

Despite the fact it had been seven years since their last release, upon hearing Tomorrow’s Harvest, it almost feels like the duo never went away. The album doesn’t reveal any dramatic changes; this is undeniably the work of Boards of Canada, filled with the melancholy melodies and subtly edgy rhythms they’ve been pursuing since the late ’90s. Not that it sounds dated; actually, there are hints throughout that the duo paid attention to the goings-on in electronic music during their hiatus. The uneasy mood and tight arpeggios that dominate songs like “White Cyclosa” recall Oneohtrix Point Never as much as their own catalog, while the unsettled low end that wobbles on “Split Your Infinitives” nods to dubstep.

These songs may even offer a more balanced journey than Geogaddi did as they move from gentle unease to simmering dread and back again; “Reach for the Dead,” the track the brothers chose to introduce this phase of their music, does both. Attention-getting tracks like “Jacquard Causeway,” which announces itself with an analog fanfare that harks back to ’70s documentaries, and the strangely stately pop of “Palace Posy,” which could be a hit single if Boards of Canada were into that kind of thing, are surrounded by vignettes that loom and lurk, like “Telepath“‘s eerie muttering and “Collapse”’s far-off crashes.

The most notable change on Tomorrow’s Harvest may be that the past it evokes feels colder and less innocent than previous reveries; this time, looking back is as much about nostalgia as it is making sure the duo hasn’t conjured up something creepy behind you on “Cold Earth” or “Nothing Is Real.” This chilly refinement may make the album a more intellectual pleasure than Boards of Canada’s earlier albums, but it’s a masterfully crafted work that feels like a natural progression for them. While this might not sound particularly exciting on paper, the consistent excellence of Tomorrow’s Harvest is as comforting as a collection of quietly menacing android fever dreams like these could possibly be.

Heather Phares, AllMusic