They're not really that full of shit. Critics tend to have an understanding of what bad music and good music is. If you had to choose between one album that's panned by media sources or one that's adorned, you'd pick latter.

Well, a recording of the stream is leaked. It comes out in Japan tomorrow so I suppose some real rips will surface then. I'm surprised Warp hasn't released the digital downloads yet, in light of the innevitable stream recordings.

I also missed the stream event. It was on at 1pm my time, I had a meeting from 12-1pm that ran a few minutes late, and then some distractions from other colleagues. I was not going to start listening to this album anywhere but at the beginning. I'm also not going to bother with a stream recording, so I guess I'm waiting.

Warp does tend to release digital files a bit ahead of the scheduled release, so really it could be any day. I doubt I'll have to wait till next Monday/Tuesday.

So, I broke down and got a digital copy of soulseek (320kbs) which isn't bad at all, and it sounds pretty great. But seriously, I'm really digging the new album, it feels a lot darker than previous endeavors, a lot punchier. It feels less organic, more in focus, less crackles, more attention to production. The songs are also a lot shorter, only one going a little over 6 minutes, which I don't particularly like. I like how expansive their longer tracks are, and it feels almost like someone pulling away a large slice of cake and leaving you with half with this release. I feel that the "cake" itself is a bit more rich and detailed than previous cakes, so it's more of a quality over quantity thing I guess. As for the songs themselves, I really like "Reach For The Dead", "Cold Earth", "Palace Posy" and "Semena Mertvykh".

Anyone else have the chance to give it a listen yet?

Granted there are some great journalists out there. But the amount of times in the past that I've let myself be influenced by a glowing review of an album only to be completely let down. Also the amount of times I've seen an album I really enjoy get an indifferent response by a critic who can't tell his ass from his mouth. In short, I've learned long ago not to let myself become too influenced by the media and to have my own understanding of what bad music and good music is.

I haven't listened to the new album yet. I'm waiting for my CD to arrive in the post but I'll probably give it a listen on Spotify before that.

Digital files are available on Bleep now. Just downloaded mine, but probably won't be able to listen till tomorrow.

Oh my goodness I'm not disappointed at all with this album. Its good stuff

So, I just listened to the whole album again on my turntable, full blast, headphones, no EQ meddling, and damn, "Semena Mertvykh" is making my head tingle and rattle. Has anyone got their vinyl copy yet besides me?

I love hearing Boards of Canada albums once.

got it the morning the record store opened! there were five other people waiting, too, which was scary because the record store only had five copies. luckily nobody else came and nobody took two copies.

P.S. palace posy is the ****

My CD arrived yesterday. The album sounded really good on first listen and sounds even better the more you listen to it. With all the endless hype and speculation over the past few years this album had a lot to live up to. It doesn't disappoint and was well worth the wait. Definitely an album for the headphones and one to turn up nice and LOUD.