Track Listing

1. Dayvan Cowboy
2. Left Side Drive
3. Heard From Telegraph Lines
4. Skyliner
5. Under The Coke Sign
6. Dayvan Cowboy

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19299 in Music
• Released on: 2006-05-29
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: EP

Customer Reviews

Can this duo do no wrong? Another classic.....

Best tracks: "Left Side Drive", "Heard from Telegraph Lines", "Skyliner"

Arriving relatively quickly after 2006`s magnificent The Campfire Headphase, Trans Canada Highway takes the blissful, aquatic, almost sun-kissed atmospheres of its predecessor and lets them blossom into something just as extraordinary with "Left Side Drive", which is one of the best things Boards of Canada have ever created; a truly dreamy, intoxicating mix of gentle beats, lazy ambience and blue-skied bliss that proves that the sunnier direction this group are embarking upon is most certainly a good thing. It follows "Dayvan Cowboy", which was already on The Campfire Headphase and appears in exactly the same form, which means some fans might balk at the recycling of old material. They might even be surprised that the same song appears in remixed form at the end of this EP; this is the first ever remix of a BoC track that's been officially released, and it stretches, changes and mutates the track into something else entirely. The original version is a classic, one of the truly outstanding highlights of its parent album and a step into entirely new territory for this duo; crashing percussion, widescreen sounds, a feel of the cinematic (albeit the artier, abstract end of the film world). The remix is barely recognisable from its original incarnation; it's certainly a more spacious, experimental affair. Upon first listen it may even drift pass without leaving much of an impression, but I think it's a grower and certainly worth persevering with.

BoC have a penchant for brief instrumental interludes inbetween their extended compositions, and often, in their own innocuous way, they turn out to be some of the major highlights of their albums and Eps. "Heard from Telegraph Lines" is no exception. "Dayvan Cowboy" excepted, this was the only preview of the EP I heard before its release, having sound tracked its own typically oblique, strange trailer on the duo's website; it's only around a minute long, but it's completely, magically mesmerising, probably the best of their short pieces ever, to be honest. It reminds me of a piece composed by Tangerine Dream for their soundtrack of the cult 1987 vampire horror Near Dark; check out the scene where the vampires first retire for the day after they kidnap the hero. It's got that same deeply eerie synthesiser sound....eerie, yet strangely comforting, a juxtaposition Boards of Canada are frankly unsurpassed in regularly achieving. More slightly 1980's horror-movie soundtrack leanings are existent in the next track; "Skyliner" is crammed to the nines with tension, excitement and swirling, giddying atmosphere, and it only gets better and better as it goes along. It's difficult to resist, this one. The most obvious standout on the EP on first listen, it's the nervous pulse to "Left Side Drive"'s calming ethereality, and it's a wonder. Another evocative, understated and effective instrumental ("Under the Coke Sign") follows before the afore-mentioned remix of "Dayvan Cowboy" arrives, wrapping up yet another masterly experience from Boards of Canada in style. I'm beginning to think these guys can really do no wrong. Fingers crossed, can't wait for the next thing they deliver us!

Perfection
Trans Canada Highway is musical perfection.

It sometimes brings tears to the eyes of this thirty seven year old cynic, even though I have heard it countless times. Perhaps that is because I listened to it every time I sat down to read 'Oryx and Crake' on the train ride to work; this EP has become inextricably linked to that story on an emotional level for me and I am full of wonder at the power music can have.

Dayvan Cowboy is one of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard. Trans Canada Highway has become my most listened to Boards of Canada 'album' and one of my favourite of all time. It never seems to lose its appeal, no matter how many times I hear it. Simply magical.

On the highway
The Boards of Canada took a lot of flack for their fuzzy, less ethereal "The Campfire Headphase," which basically explores whole new avenues of music, but didn't sound anything like what they had done before.

But one of those songs comes across far better in "Trans Canada Highway," spearheading an EP of the kind of music that Boards of Canada is known for -- rippling electronica, crammed with atmosphere and chilly beauty. It's a nicely solid little EP, covering both sides of the band's musical palette.

It opens with "Dayvan Cowboy," a mass of fuzz with a rambly little guitar melody in the middle, and decorated with some delicate chiming sounds. About halfway through, a gust of wind blows away all the fuzz and chimes, leaving just a the hesitant guitar, clashing cymbals and a trembling violin. But slowly the fuzz and chimes creep back in....

... just in time for the rattly, atmospheric sweeps of "Left Side Drive," which is more typical of Boards of Canada's music. It's mellow, smooth and atmospheric, with some nice beats. From there they explore the dreamlike prettiness of "Heard From Telegraph Lines" and the staticky "Under the Coke Sign," and the angular synth stretches of "Skyliner."

And finally there's he Odd Nosdam remix of "Dayvan Cowboy." Hoo, this one takes a little getting used to -- for awhile you can just hear planes taking off, it softly segues into a chilly ambient sweep... before finally getting into the expansive, swirling main melody. It takes a LONG time to get anywhere, but it's brilliant when it really gets moving.

"Trans Canada Highway" has a little of every Boards of Canada "sound" in it, flickering through their prior "sounds" with new little songs. And it really makes "Dayvan Cowboy" sound appealing as it didn't before, by letting it be judged on its own merits. It's actually a pretty good song.

Except for an angelic-sounding chorale which only appears for a second, there aren't any vocals in this. Instead, the music is pure -- it's full of shimmering warm analog synth, sharply-defined beats, heavy fuzz, and in "Dayvan Cowboy," a twining of more conventional instrumentation like violin, guitar and clashing drums.

"Trans Canada Highway" is a beautiful little EP, bringing two very different styles for Boards of Canada together. Definitely a good listen.