The opening of the album sets these ideas, 'Ready Let's Go' being a typical Boards of Canada miniature, sad, beautiful and melancholic. 'Music Is Math' the first long track again feels familiar thanks to the return of that unique round bass sound. 'Gyroscope' is a hypnotic track that sounds like 'Ummagumma' era Pink Floyd with intricate drum programming. While the group manage to keep things a bit minimal here, the track also features the first of a number of reverse sounds, the slightly psychedelic cliché they are way too fond of on this album and that indeed would be responsible to the pre-release rumor that 'Geogaddi' was recorded in such a way that one could play the album backwards without any trouble. The problem I have with much of the album is exemplified with the much praised '1969', which makes clear that Boards of Canada have fallen victim to a common trap plaguing electronic artists: filling tracks with too much detail. The insistence of putting layer upon layer takes away the power of the beautiful vocoder lines and consequently almost ruins '1969'.
But this is the new Boards of Canada album so even if one perceives it with an overly critical eye there will be plenty of music to enjoy. All the miniatures are outstanding, they remain the Boards of Canada secret weapon and they do keep me wondering why the group relies on often unspectacular and unnecessary beats. 'Over The Horizon', 'Diving Station' and 'You Could Feel The Sky' are vintage Boards of Canada pearls: simple, enchanting melodies that make you feel nostalgic whether they are played on a piano or as thin synth waves. Two longer tracks should also be singled out: 'The Beach At Redpoint' combines a beautiful melody with wordless female singing to produce something close to an IDM My Bloody Valentine track.