Nestled somewhere in between the warm hues of 1970s flocked wallpaper and the sleek electronic sheen of the future lies Boards of Canada’s Music Has the Right to Children. The warm patter of “Open the Light” and the stuttering Hip-Hop beats and lulling synth chords of tracks like “Telephastic Workshop” are juxtaposed with short vignettes like “The Color of the Fire,” a minimalist composition not unlike Brian Eno’s Music for Airports. A child’s voice is sampled, disfigured and looped to form a creepy, somewhat detached, one-sided conversation. The avant garde Music Has the Right to Children is invariably connected with nature, from the languid introduction “Wildlife Analysis” to the distorted seagull caws of the album’s final track, “Happy Cycling.” Happy cycling indeed—depending on your drug of choice.
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