ELECTRONICA

Latest releases reviewed

BOARDS OF CANADA The Campfire Headphase Warp  ****

No one else makes fuzzy slow-motion electronica like Boards of Canada. 1998's Music Has the Right to Children saw Marcus Eoin and Michael Sandison set a home-listening electronica revolution in motion. Since then, many have come in their wake, trailing similar kooky, psychedelic noises but, as The Campfire Headphase shows quite emphatically, few can better what the duo's circuit boards are capable of producing. Here, the addition of standard acoustic and electric instruments alongside the synths and samplers is what sees the sound going sepia in tone. The misty, slightly faded melodies that dominate tracks such as Oscar See Through Red Eye or Slow This Bird are dazzling because of their depth, while Satellite Anthem could not be mistaken for anything but BoC. That said, they're also capable of shifting the pace, with Dayvan Cowboy thrilling with its clanging, stirring sounds. Music for the gentle generation. www.boardsofcanada.com

Jim Carroll

THE PRODIGY Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005 XL  ***

Proof that when they were good, The Prodigy were very, very good indeed. Liam Howlett and friends were one of many acts who emerged from the day-glo rave era; unlike the contemporaries with whom they shared stages, glowsticks and Vick's Vapour Rub back then, The Prodigy survived and thrived by becoming the biggest electronic punk rock band around. While last year's Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned was a valiant attempt to move things forward by using Howlett's gift for minting great walls of sound, Their Law shows that The Prodigy may well have creatively peaked almost a decade ago. Tracks such as Voodoo People, Poison, Out of Space and No Good ooze energy, panache and the kind of snotty attitude that money can't buy. By comparison, the more recent singles (Spitfire, Girls) seem somewhat tired and overworked. www.theprodigy.com

Jim Carroll