Simulcast is a shining and beautifully crafted album that reaffirms Hansen's hold atop of 21st century ambient electronic.
Simulcast could be thought of as the more "background music" version of Weather, but even without lyrics, it's still meant to put your mind in motion. Both versions are equally worth the roughly half-hour it takes to listen to each.
What the project demonstrates is that Tycho has a great ear and understands deeply how pop music isn’t just about the lyrics – it’s about delivering an emotive punch through straightforward melodies ravelled around one another.
This instrumental companion to the San Francisco electronic musician’s 2019 album Weather is unfailingly mood-stabilizing and office-friendly, like a desktop screensaver of an ocean.
With each release, it becomes painstakingly clear that Tycho is a one trick pony. It’s a pretty nice and therapeutic trick, but when his albums sounds as same-y as they have for almost a decade now, it’s hard to ignore.
Standout: Outer Sunset
Favs: PCH, Stress
Least fav: Cypress
The first track, "Weather", is a very cool track with crisp percussion, reverb-soaked synth passages and tight mixing all round. "Outer Sunset" is also a... very cool track with... crisp percussion... reverb-soaked synth passages and... tight mixing. Yeah, he just kind of repeats the same track 8 more times on this record and, while it keeps it somewhat consistent sonically, it blemishes itself for the fact that there isn't a single standout track on here.
Fav Tracks: Outer ... read more
bringing the instrumentals to the forefront helped this album be better than weather, as now tycho's atmospheric production has its chance to shine brightly
One of the best electronic chillwave background albums I've ever heard, at least imo this is peak Tycho.
Funny to see people complaining about his sound being the same for the last 10 years, like lol it's his sound, and I'm honestly hearing an improvement over the years of this same sound, if he changed genres then I would see people complaining about that.
So yeah, I'm definitely sure this is his best effort with this sound.
It leaves behind the downtempo thing, and it's definitely more ... read more
Not really bold or shining throughout. Textures can be lackluster many times, and don’t help the moods reach their potentials. Some memorable chords or moving drums would be beneficial. Overly simplified tones though, and substantially a little bland even. Directions can be confusing or too simple, and the electronic passages really are fleeting. Phrasing overall isn’t really noticeable.
“Weather” has the slightly confusing direction, structure is varied, but lost ... read more
#13 | / | Magnetic |