Boards of Canada: “Inferno”

For Ryan, thanks for the recommendation.
Less than a 2 minute read.

In the American suburbs, The Rolling Stones are synonymous with longevity and Boomerism. At least three generations of music fans have discovered the hits, eventually moved on to deeper cuts, and concluded that the new stuff isn’t worth the time of day. There is no new joke about the band that can be made today, in 2026, that The Simpsons didn’t already make in the late 1900s. It is odd to realize you’re getting older, and semi-obscure but wildly influential computer music from 1998 might be the Millenial Rolling Stones.

Boards of Canada put out electronic albums that benefitted immensely from streaming services and online music discovery. The songs that got favorited never really stopped getting plays, but hearing about an album now when the favorited songs came out in 1998 is surprising. Hearing from a friend that it’s really good causes immediate alarm bells that we are the new boomers sharing Rolling Stones albums from far, far after the bands prime.

And yet, “Inferno” really is good. It’s compelling. It’s listenable. It’s timely. It’s evocative. It’s creepy. It builds on what the band already did well and makes it contemporary. It feels innately uncool to revisit such an old band, but ignoring a good album seems even more uncool.

The critics never really abandoned the Rolling Stones. The youth did, of course, generation after generation. It is hard for the youth to consider an AARP cover shoot cool. Playing half-time shows and charging astronomical ticket prices is anti-punk. The critics did their job and listened to the albums. Some were good. Some were not. The Stones kept putting them out.

It probably doesn’t matter how old Boards of Canada are. It probably doesn’t matter how old the Rolling Stones are. Find good music. Send it to your friends.