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- Summary: The collection of 36 demos tracks that were intended for the follow-up to 2005's Tender Buttons for British electronic pop group Broadcast but was never made due to the death of Trish Keenan in 2011 is one of the two demo releases due in 2024.
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- Record Label: Warp
- Genre(s): Electronic, Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Indie Electronic, Dream Pop, Post-Rock, Ambient Pop
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Score distribution:
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Positive: 8 out of 8
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Mixed: 0 out of 8
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Negative: 0 out of 8
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UncutMay 8, 2024What strikes you is the sheer variety of styles and textures that Keenan and Cargill were playing around with. It’s a shimmering patchwork of ideas and moments, some more realised than others, some beautiful, some stark. .... Spell Blanket is a glimpse at what might have been. A memory of the future. [May 2024, p.42]
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May 8, 2024There's an intimacy here that compliments Broadcast's already close, cosy sound. Even the shorter songs bear fruit. .... It's hard not to imagine what these songs could have been: would Broadcast have kept them as-is and dove more into psychedelic folk, or would they have embellished more, and added more synths and electronics? Either way, it's a fascinating glimmer of what they might have done next.
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The WireJun 13, 2024Though clearly labelled as demos, it’s hard not to think of this as a completed work. Cargill’s sequencing is impeccable and the material is compelling throughout. This is no mere collection of odds and sods, but a substantial release from the band that enriches their legacy. .... A reminder of what was lost. But it also feels like a gift. [Jul 2024, p.68]
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May 8, 2024Spell Blanket is an expansive sonic feast, swiftly—but intentionally—oscillating from minute-long loop fragments and textural studies to more fleshed-out, properly arranged songs. There’s a noticeable flow in energy, which gives the collection more of a proper album feel than a mixtape or thrown-together compilation.
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May 8, 2024Most of this collection, however, offers fleeting impressions rather than signed-off, finished portraits. .... For Broadcast’s true believers, this is an essential and edifying experience, casting its own spells.
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MojoMay 8, 2024So many ideas, so much beauty and a fitting memento of Trish Keenan's poetic songwriting and inimitable, unimpeachable voice. [May 2024, p.100]
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Jun 7, 2024“The Song Before the Song Comes Out” seems to be Keenan sketching a possibility with her voice and whatever device she had at hand. This kind of intimacy is evident on a number of the collection’s tracks.