Tycho delivers soothing instrumental 8-tracker, ‘Simulcast,’ and dives deep into LP’s parallels to ‘Weather’ [Album Review]

Musical mastermind Scott Hansen, also known as the face behind Tycho, has just released the Simulcast album that everyone has been waiting for. The eight track project is essentially an acoustic, instrumental version of his last studio album, Weather, which was also a collaborative album with singer Saint Sinner, featuring her vocals on every track. It also cracked CE‘s Top Albums of 2019 and even received a Grammy nomination last year.

Weather had stunned fans with the sheer amount of vocals tracks on the album, at least in comparison to Tycho’s usual vein. That inspired Hansen to go back to his roots, the way he first started producing music, and completely reintroduce the album this time from another point of view: completely stripped of its vocals.

It’s this different lens to view the process through, and it taught me a lot about how music communicates, and how if there’s vocals or no vocals, it’s still the same message…” Tycho shared in an interview with KCRW.

Tycho recently provided fans with two of the tracks off the album, “Stress” and “Outer Sunset,” in which much of the excitement was built around. The Simulcast tour had also kicked off earlier this month, getting the excitement going as well. The tour will run through June. Fans have been eagerly awaiting the release for quite some time. The wait is now over. All eight tracks are out.

On the last album, Tycho shared that the track “Weather,” which he so beautifully closed out the album with previously, would be the “jumping-off point to what’s next.” Starting right where he left off, Tycho picks things back up and gets the musical ball rolling with a stunning instrumental version of the track. His reasoning behind all of this? “It’s always felt like both a beginning and an ending. So now it’s both,” he shared with Apple Music.

 

That brings listeners into the next track, “Alright,” which originally stemmed from “For How Long.” It was actually the first song Tycho had created on the last album, so there’s quite a few versions of it out there that he’s sitting on. The final track released off the album, “Stress,” incorporates all of those different versions while keeping the simplicity of the originals, so as to create something truly special.

 

“Outer Sunset” was released earlier this month. It’s very serene and brings about a strong feeling of peace and tranquility. The melodic bassline helps pave the way for this track, which beautifully combines distorted drum snares with stunning synths and a chirping guitar all layered above those melodies. Then comes “Into The Woods” which is overflowing with meaning and intention. It also aligns with everything that Tycho is all about.

That’s all Tycho is to me, is trying to translate the feeling you get when you’re in nature into music,” he also shared in the KCRW interview.

He believes this track truly embodies the whole journey of “coming to terms with your fears, having this psychedelic experience with nature, and finding your way out,” he shared with Apple Music at the time of the release. Tycho really brings listeners on a journey into the woods with him with this one.

“Easy” flows so effortlessly. The intention with this track, along with the entire album, was to get into a continuously safe space to focus on both physical and mental health. This particular song was written amidst a time of trying to overcome anxiety. “For whatever reason, this song just flowed,” he shared with Apple Music. Its eloquent ambience provides such a safe space for listeners.

 

Only minor changes were made to “PCH” which is undeniably parallel to “Pink & Blue.” Although still so similar, the whole vibe has sort of shifted due to just the slightest adjustments in the synths as well as the removal of the vocals.

“Cypress” which is similar to “Japan” exhibits the warm, psychedelic, dream like state that Tycho described himself being in during his trip to Japan. He does such a wonderful job of portraying that experience through this track.

 

Lastly, but certainly not least, “Stress” comes from “No Stress,” as Tycho revealed when he dropped the two tracks as an EP to kick off the Simulcast releases. The song’s contrasting themes are fitting because “No Stress” was actually the hardest one for Tycho to shift over to an instrumental version, solely because the original was written entirely to be sung along with. The final product unfolded so beautifully, and some elements from Epoch can even be found in “Stress.”