2xLP RED TRANSLUCENT DELUXE VINYL

Partway through Inferno, a voice intones, "Help me to be ready for your return" -- a reference to a second coming that may resonate with Boards of Canada fans who waited devoutly for new music after 2013's Tomorrow's Harvest. Marcus Eoin and Mike Sandison are no strangers to lengthy gaps between albums: Tomorrow's Harvest appeared a mere eight years after Campfire Headphase, and by the time of Inferno's release, the nostalgia surrounding Boards of Canada encompassed their early days as well as their hazy musical remembrances of the 1970s and '80s. While distance and mystery remain vital to Eoin and Sandison's art, their fifth album is notably direct. When Inferno appeared, the feeling that the apocalypse was nigh was perhaps more prominent than at any other time during Boards of Canada's career. From its title to its sound, the album spells out the dread they alluded to on Geogaddi and Tomorrow's Harvest. Even if "Introit" sounds comfortingly like the music from a '70s educational filmstrip, the glassy clarity of Inferno's production feels unsettlingly present. There's a sharper edge to the mood of songs such as "Prophecy at 1420 MHz," where live drums and guitar heighten the booming declaration "I am God/the ultimate resonance."

On the album's gripping highlights, Sandison and Eoin's inspired use of samples trace the political, spiritual, and emotional chaos of the 2020s. An argument from the 1971 documentary The Jesus Trip makes up the heart of "Father and Son," with the rhythm of the dialogue ("I love you/ But I love the Lord/More than I love any physical being" "Then why can't you/Bring that same feeling home?") setting off a spiral of faith, paranoia, and isolation that echoes in the serenely sinister "Age of Capricorn" and "All Reason Departs," which sets Aleister Crowley quotes to ritualistic rhythms. "The Word Becomes Flesh"'s remarkably funky description of an embryo's development is another standout, as is "The Process," where a female narrator discusses "atrocities" as calmly as a flight attendant pointing out where the oxygen masks are located.

While the vocal-heavy tracks may not appeal to all Boards of Canada fans, Inferno's 70-minute expanse offers plenty of variety. "Hydrogen Helium Lithium Leviathan," with its smeary synths and flitting beats, is a quintessential BOC track; the springy "Arena Americanada" is a pleasing throwback to IDM's turn-of-the-century heyday; and "Into the Magic Land"'s twangy post-rock calls to mind Campfire Headphase as well as Mogwai. "Deep Time"'s strings and tympani reaffirm how well the duo's music lends itself to orchestral touches, while the droning layers of "Naraka" and "Acts of Magic" are ready to soundtrack the next buzzed-about cult documentary. Occasionally, Inferno threatens to lose focus, and its last few tracks play like a series of epilogues, though "You Retreat in Time and Space"'s reverent, Angelo Badalamenti-like glow and "I Saw Through Platonia"'s ghostly drift bring things to an affecting close. An album that demands and rewards close listening, Inferno remains true to the world Boards of Canada have created while engaging with the world at large. They may be steeped in the past, but they won't be consigned to it.

A1        Introit    0:37
A2        Prophecy At 1420 MHz    5:04
A3        Hydrogen Helium Lithium Leviathan    4:44
A4        Age Of Capricorn    3:52
A5        Father And Son    3:24
B1        Somewhere Right Now In The Future    2:26
B2        Naraka    5:01
B3        Acts Of Magic    1:18
B4        Memory Death    2:37
B5        The Word Becomes Flesh    5:20
C1        Into The Magic Land    4:35
C2        Blood In The Labyrinth    4:55
C3        Deep Time    3:18
C4        All Reason Departs    6:14
D1        Arena Americanada    5:22
D2        The Process    3:01
D3        You Retreat In Time And Space    5:25
D4        I Saw Through Platonia    2:37