Boards Of Canada ‎– In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country

10 years has put some distance between original impressions and current opinion; and all I can really say is: listening to it at 33rpm is little different than 45 rpm. I guess that isn't saying much, but it also damns this record with faint praise, as it sounds like little more than outtakes of _Music Has a Right to Children_ ... having the overwhelmingly melancholy tint, the disheveled vocal samplings, the heavy "organ" work ... all very good but predictable, and mostly lending itself to a reflective feeling of wistfulness. Perhaps that is what most listeners wanted at the time.

I bought four brand new copies of this before getting one that did not have overwhelming surface noise on it. (This was back in 2000. They cost me $6 each, and I returned the first three copies for refunds.) So beware! There is a large batch of bad pressings out there. Make sure to listen to it first before buying. If buying online, ask the seller to listen to it. Make sure it's not one of the bad pressings before dropping $30+ on a used copy. I would not recommend buying a new /sealed copy. That's a gamble.

That being said...I bought four copies because I was determined to find one decent pressing. I knew it was a masterpiece as soon as it was released. Easily one of my top favorite three BOC records.

Since I am not a Boards Of Canada conoisseur, let alone a long term follower of their opus, let me come out in the open and say it: Amo Bishop Roden is the track you have been looking for if dream like states of mind is the mood you prefer to be in. Sparse percussion, and an all encompassing, all inclusive melody and its sheer mesmerizing presence, chiefly restricted to recurring regularly and frequently in a prolonged and closely spaced out series of simple musical notes, which despite their compositional naivete, act like a sopofiric agent that induces sleep. When I talk about dreamy, lackadaisical sounds which inspire me to just let go and get carried away, this is the track I have in mind, along with Planetary Assault Systems' The Parting, Alter Ego's Undersea Girl, Aphex Twin's Xtal and Carl Craig's Home Entertainment. Pure and undiluted melody with no other purpose but blazing a forcible stream of gorgeous acoustic waves through your heart.
Kid For Today comes in second. A proper IDM tune, if there ever was one, though I usually avoid anything intentionally labelled by these newly arrived geeks as "thinking music". Slow, broken drum beats covered with a winter blanket subtle melody, which never jumps out and kills the laid back atmosphere. No element in this tune is more emphasized than the next one, everything is layered and balanced on the same level throughout, meaning it's winner I like playing on my portable music player while outside having a walk through a forest or something. Soothing, relaxing and mollifying music which'll melt your ears down to their core elements.
The B side isn't really my thing, and I espcially feel like the title track, which otherwise could have been a phenomenal instrumental piece similar to A1, has been ruined by vocoded vocals chanting in a pretty irritating manner "In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country"... Definitely not something I'd want to remember electronic music for. And those children's laughter samples in the background were already tiresome back in Y2K, while listening to them today is a competent patience exam.
Overall, even to a more casual listener, and to someone who isn't a B.O.C.-til-I-die fanboy, this a chance worthy release. The A side deserves multiple listens, and Amo Bishop Roden is one of the most touching, upright pieces of electronic music I have ever come across.

I've been a fan of BoC for a while, but I haven't got around listening to this until last night. After one listen I can easily say that this is the best Boards of Canada release ever. I was compelled by every song, except from Zoetrope perhaps, but I think it'll grow on me.

You get hooked by this EP, from the first sounds of 'Kid for Today' until the last sounds of 'Zoetrope'. And of course, that feeling of nostalgia that lurks in almost every song by BoC is there. When I first listened to 'Kid for Today' I could almost feel like I was a kid again, playing around my grandparents' house. And then there's also that feeling that you can't really put your finger on, some sort of scaryness... But it only makes the music more diverse and beautiful.

All in all, I think this is the brothers at their best, even though it's just a four track EP. Buy it and you'll understand why.

Warp Records has many artists in its 15 year catalog that have defined modern electronic music. Boards Of Canada is one of those acts. There are only a small amount of groups that have cult followings and B.O.C. is amongst the most popular. However when asking which track or song is their best, one will find that most B.O.C. fans do not really like one track in specific. In fact, you will get a whole lot of favorites. There is one which over a period of several years has steadily grown to be quite popular and that is Amo Bishop Roden. The name is one from Koresh's list of followers which some may remember as the cult leader who met his demise on his Texas ranch after shooting two federal agents in a wild west styled gun battle. I do feel as if the track title fits the composition quite well.
An almost ambient wash of sound textures paint a picture both beautiful and yet dark. Like walking alone during a blizzard. As post 2000 works go, this is one of electronic's finest moments.

this is in my opinion one of the greatest EPs ever released. each song is incredible, i can't get enough of this release. plus, each song on here is exclusive to the release, for the most part, unlike other BOC EPs where there are a lot of repeat tracks like turquoise hexagon sun and smokes quantity. this EP is definitely worth your money, highly recommended

Amo Bishop Roden is a Branch Davidian member (remember the sect run
by David Koresh from Camp David, Waco Texas?). She is the one saying
"Come out to live in a religious community in a beautiful place in the country"
on the track "In a beautiful place in the country". It's taken from an interview
with her on David Koresh's ranch, and this is supposedly the beautiful place
in the country.

Amo Bishop Roden is also the person mentioned in the track 1969 on Geogaddi.
"Although not a follower of hseroK divaD, she's a devoted branch davidian"
(David Koresh is played reversed). It's from the same interview, but this time
it's the interviewer who's saying this.

There's also a picture of her on the back sleeve of "In a beautiful place in the
country".