Search - Boards of Canada :: Hi Scores

Heightened dreamland

Jason Furtado | Puyallup, WA United States | 03/23/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"BOC's Hi-Scores, starts off poppy, ends on the dark side. And the latter is definetly what makes their sound so appealing. While their style is not as musically complex as Aphex or Autechre, their ability to stick with the rich beats and airy melodies without adding anymore useless noises is what propels them ahead of the game. None of this is compromised on this album, as is the case with anything they put out. This six track album is definetly worth picking up, although if you own Twoism and MHTRTC, it is only four new tracks. However, the last track alone, dripping with lushious beats and melody, is worth the price. While not quite up to par with IABPOITC or Twoism, no fan can be complete without this gem."

BoC's best EP: a showcase of their evolution

Impreza22B | US | 08/29/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Twoism was a sign of great things to come from Boards of Canada. It was good, very good in fact, but it wasn't quite complete. There was something missing. That missing element is found here on Hi Scores, and even more so on BoC's first full-length album, Music Has the Right to Children. Hi Scores completes the preview to MHTRTC. The EP begins with "Hi Scores," which is a blissfully gentle piece. It continues with "Turquoise Hexagon Sun," which is also on MHTRTC, and is one of my favorite songs from BoC, if not my favorite. "Nlogax" is one of BoC's more individualistic and most psychedelic (if that is at all possible, when considering the psychedelic adventure that is Geogaddi) song. It is a bit rough on the edges and takes some time to get listening to, but just like Autechre's "Piezo" it becomes very addicting despite its flaws. The album begins to tone down after the peak ("Nlogax") with "June 9th" and "Seeya Later," and finally ends with the wonderfully atmospheric "Everything You Do is a Balloon." Overall the album is probably BoC's most down-tempo album, and their most consistent EP. It combines the psychedelic and atmospheric sounds that makes their music so mysterious, nostalgic, and blissful. I definately recommend Hi Scores to any Boards of Canada fan, as Music Has the Right to Children and Geogaddi just barely top it in my opinion. I guess you could call Hi Scores a mini or pre-Music Has the Right to Children, which is giving it a lot of credit."

Quite a Find

LHB | Dallas TX | 09/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I found this hidden in the miscellaneous "T's" in my local indie store in it's non-descript cardboard sleeve for $10.99. It starts off slow, dreamy and beautiful, gets funkier and ends with a stunning track "Everything You Do is a Balloon" that's quite unlike anything else they've done. Not unlike an orchestral recording, with pillars of dark tones that sound like double basses coming out of the left channel interwoven with a beautiful, subtle melody. "Seeya Later" is on Twoism but the other tracks are otherwise unavailable. More interesting than "Twosim" in my opinion, and "Balloon" is really a superb piece. If you'rea BOC fan, don't hesitate."