Campfire Headphase sacrafices many of the core elements of Boards of Canada to make a more forefront-sounding record, one that isn't that deep but still entertaining. Well, starting at the beginning. Boards of Canada have tons of great music under their belt, well in terms of records they're not that prolific but there's enough material under their name to establish them as one of the most important electronic acts of this era.
This record is actually cleaner and better assembled than some of their other records, but it's not as good because it sacrafices some of the simple density for a more rock-type sound. Case in point is Dayvan Cowboy, the album's obvious highlight, which is almost post-rock in its overblown intensity. That said, it sounds great, but at the same time there's definitely a piece of the band missing. It doesn't help that the rest of the songs don't reach the breathtaking highs of this one either.
There's still that ridiculous filler the band is known for. I do not mind it so much but I wish the filler was kept to a minimum, regardless. Some might say it's not filler, but anyone can dig up a synthetic sound, hit two notes for thirty seconds, and toss it into a tracklist. They always have these deep names too, like "A Moment of Clarity". Whatever.
I wonder if Saturday Sun is a reference to the Nick Drake song. It's a strangely somber and very depressing tune. I mean very depressing. I haven't heard it in maybe six years but wow, what a downer. It's that guitar.
Overall the songs themselves are fine but the constant onslaught of filler kind of ruins the record. It's not the worst thing ever, but it could be a lot better. The highlights like the aforementioned Dayvan Cowboy and Hey Saturday Sun make it worth it. If you like Boards of Canada I recommend getting into Geogaddi and Music Has the Right to Children before this one, as they are superior. Like I said, this record sacrafices some musical concepts but it's not a dealbreaker.
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