Tycho's new album 'Simulcast' goes back to his instrumental style and will flush out all your stress
Scott Hansen, more commonly known by his stage name 'Tycho' is all set to release his sixth studio album 'Simulcast'. For fans who want Tycho to go back to his instrumental take on music, you will be happy to hear that he has done just that on 'Simulcast'. The new album plays as a married piece to his previous critically-acclaimed and Grammy-nominated LP 'Weather'.
The previous album reached critical success, albeit Tycho diverted slightly on the album from his instrumental style of music and added vocals for the first time.
Hansen revealed the intent behind 'Simulcast' in a press release, saying, "A simulcast is the transmission of a program across different media and in different languages. With these two albums, I wanted to present the same ideas in two languages, one more literal and the other more open to interpretation".
Hansen's press release was published in Exclaim!
He goes on to say, "'Simulcast' expands on the concepts laid out in 'Weather', but shifts into the abstract with instrumental soundscapes in place of lyrics, opening up a visual space and translating the message into a new language."
The track 'Stress', seeks to give you nothing but that. In contrast to the song's title, the music reaches into the corners of your mind to flush out your "stress" with warm sweeping melodies and instrumentals. The whole affair is reverse psychology at best as the gorgeously relaxing song stands out as one of the most soothing of the album.
With an intro playing out like a soothing mildly warped song in rewind (with overlapping mild radio voices), 'Into the Woods' gently bursts into normality. A pixie-like melody takes over and audio from nature provides a clever backdrop, such as softened bird tweets and instruments resonating timid winds. Imagine opening the windows of a luxury wooden cabin to a calm lush forest and that's what aptly titled 'Into the Woods' is all about.
'PCH' comes in a little tougher than Tycho's intimately peaceful tones with a harder kick of the drums and a bending melody. Opening with tapping on a single note the melody stands as the orchestrator to the rest of the instruments and interweaving layers of music begin to take the song's listeners to more urbane themes, somewhat reminiscent of a dystopian city.
A somber tune moves in with 'Cypress' and expands towards a vast underwater empire in its imagery as the rhythm kicks in. Commonly Tycho-sweeter notes are gradually added in toward light, echoing, aqua-esque female vocals that begin to emerge and the juxtaposition of intermixed "happy/sad" note usage creates an abstract audio painting.
As one would gather from any Tycho album, it is all about peace, solitude, abstract thinking and nothing but divine production coaxing imagery for all five senses. Your spirit is enlightened as the sixth sense gets caressed on 'Simulcast'.
It is a snowball blast to the emotions and a warm sunrise (or sunset) in the face of harsh or mundane living that many of us may be presented with. 'Simulcast', just like any other Tycho album, comes highly recommended for those seeking to escape, those looking for their next "for relaxing sleep" playlist, or for those who appreciate fine art and sheer musical skill.
'Simulcast' Tracklist
1. 'Weather'
2. 'Alright / For How Long'
3. 'Outer Sunset / Skate'
4. 'Into The Woods'
5. 'Easy'
6. 'PCH / Pink & Blue'
7. 'Cypress / Japan'
8. 'Stress / No Stress'
