Boards of Canada

The Scottish duo of Michael Sandison and Marcus Eoin, Boards of Canada took the often-impenetrable formula known as IDM (intelligent dance music) popularized by Autechre in the mid-'90s, and softened the form's rough edges by adding austere atmospheres that were often as chilly as they were beautiful. Their debut album, Music Has the Right to Children, coupled eerie, foreboding walls of sound with a heavy, thudding hip-hop beat while whimsical harmonies play off of dark, processed vocals. The otherworldly, off-kilter rhythms of "Telephasic Workshop" are brought back to earth with the simplest trick: a catchy tune.

BOC followed up Music with a five-song (EP), In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country, discarding the strong backbeats of their debut in favor of the willowy, soft textures prominently featured on the title track. Their long-awaited second full-length, Geogaddi, disappointed, however. The shock of the new no longer applied, so the contrast of evil undertones and electronic lullabies simply wasn't as compelling. Still, a few tracks -- with their offbeat explorations of sound -- demonstrate why BOC remain influential and important contributors to experimental techno. (TRICIA ROMANO)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide