I've bought many records from many places over the years, but this is one of two records I've bought in a garden centre (the other was at the same time). Near where I live there is a large garden centre which possibly does better business from selling the many things there that aren't garden related than those that are. Inside the strangely large building is an antiques market with hundreds of things of wildly inconsistent quality and equally inconsistent ideas of a fair price. Some days we find nothing of any interest at all, other days you find the perfect piece of furniture for nothing. One day I found this sealed Boards of Canada EP, and the massively over-hyped Cosmogramma by Flying Lotus for £5 each (more on that second one another time). On that particular stall there were only a handful of records, the rest unsealed and slightly dog-eared. How these two sealed records came to be there I'll never know.
I've not got any other Boards of Canada music, but they're a band I've known about since I started going to All Tomorrow's Parties and learning about the various bands who existed in those circles. A guy I used to work with who I had some very interesting conversations about music with used to wear a Boards of Canada t-shirt, so that was another stamp of approval. I've also heard people rave about their album Music Has the Right to Children, which has one of the greatest album titles I've ever heard.
However, I long suspected they weren't a band for me. I had a song on an ATP compilation cd that didn't do much for me, and the descriptions of their music always contained some words that were off-putting. I'm sure I must have tried streaming some songs at some point as well, concluding that it wasn't going to be my thing. Then, confronted with a sealed 12" for £5 in a place that had no business selling such records, I thought it'd be rude not to, and so Trans Canada Highway entered my collection.
I can appreciate the record for what it is, but it hasn't set my world on fire. The songs are nice, but I've come to like more drama from my instrumental music - many of the many post-rock bands I love play off the quiet moments against the loud, and that's what I really love about them; Boards of Canada make beautiful quiet, contemplative music, but I rarely want that. A classic case of "it's not you, it's me".
The only other thing left to say about this EP is that I definitely played it on holiday a few years ago whilst driving along the Trans Canada Highway; you almost have to. It's a long road (as you might expect) so there was plenty of time. I also played Trans Canada by Constantines, which I took far more enjoyment from.
Format: 12", picture sleeve
Tracks: 6
Cost: £5 new
Bought: Antiques Market, Yarnton
When: 20/09/15
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code
