Boards of Canada Release New Music from Upcoming Album Inferno

The Scottish electronic duo Boards of Canada have announced the release of their fifth studio album, titled Inferno, scheduled to arrive on May 29 via Warp. The upcoming record marks the duo’s first full-length studio release in 13 years, following 2013’s Tomorrow’s Harvest.

To signal the return, the group has shared the first two tracks from the album: Introit and Prophecy At 1420 MHz. The album is slated to feature 18 tracks and will be available in digital and multiple physical formats.

According to reporting from NME, Introit serves as a mysterious prelude characterized by spectral, retro-futurist scrambling synths. The accompanying track, Prophecy At 1420 MHz, is described as a hypnotic and mildly ominous piece that references the deep space frequency used in the search for extra-terrestrial life, featuring mutated vocals emerging from static.

The duo has also released a music video for both tracks, which was directed by Robert Beatty.

A Mysterious Promotional Campaign

The announcement of Inferno follows a series of cryptic promotional events. Fans spotted a poster campaign in cities including London, New York, California, and Shibuya, featuring designs that mirror the artwork from the duo’s 1998 debut album, Music Has The Right To Children.

Further activity was detected when a website previously used for clues regarding the group’s activity was revived. The site displayed the message nobody home… in English, followed by the same phrase repeated in Morse code.

some fans reported receiving physical VHS tapes featuring the group’s signature hexagon-mesh logo. Information from the archivist page BoC Pages indicates these tapes contained audio from an advertisement for a Christian bible school magazine that ceased publication in 1991.

Career Context and Critical Reception

While the duo has remained largely silent regarding full-length projects since 2013, they have maintained a minimal presence through archival reissues, random remixes, and an NTS DJ mix.

The group’s previous album, Tomorrow’s Harvest, was met with critical acclaim upon its release in 2013. In a four-star review at the time, NME characterized the band as the anti-Daft Punk.

The publication elaborated on the atmospheric contrast between the two acts:

While the Parisian robot duo’s ‘Random Access Memories’ is full of sunshine, light and high-profile collaborations, ‘Tomorrow’s Harvest’ is a dark, often uncomfortable affair, more nuclear winter than summer anthem. NME

The release of Inferno on May 29 represents the first time the duo has produced a studio album since that 2013 release, continuing their history of elusive marketing and atmospheric electronic composition.