Scottish duo Michael Sandison and Marcus Eoin are Boards of Canada and the creators of fine experimental electronica and ambient soundscapes that are pleasing to the ear and a measure of the intellect. In a Beautiful Place out in the Country is singularly focused, for good or ill, and the sonic interactions paint gray clouds in muted tones across a dull canvas on a frosty day, while the painter stands still and silent in his coat, wrapped inside his own world of dull warmth.

The real genius of Boards of Canada, though, is how they manage to take cold constructs of metal, plastic, and electronics and create warm, rich soundscapes and environments. The magic is how they can take strange, simple elements and combine them into a solid, unified whole that evokes beauty, mystery, and color. In a Beautiful Place out in the Country is still an incredibly satisfying listen, and speak to those of us who've bartered our innocence for the experience of rent payments, asinine bosses, rolling blackouts, and a suborned democracy. Video piece entiled "Place" developed for the 2007 Plus+ International Design Expo by Clusta Music.