English band Broadcast will release two new demo collections in 2024: Spell Blanket – Collected Demos 2006-2009 (out May 3rd) and Distant Call – Collected Demos 2000-2006 (out September 28th).
Broadcast, the electronic dream pop project of James Cargill and Trish Keenan, who died of pneumonia in 2011, previously reissued their entire discography in 2015. Now, Cargill is unearthing dozens of demos collected over a 10-year span. According to a press release, Spell Blanket comprises of “songs and sketches” from Trish’s “extensive archive of 4-track tapes and MiniDiscs” that would have eventually served as Broadcast’s fifth album.
Distant Call, on the other hand, comprises of early demos that eventually would appear on their albums Haha Sound, Tender Buttons, and The Future Crayon. The album also features “Come Back To Me” and “Please Call To Book,” two songs that Cargill discovered after Keenan’s death. The latter song was Keenan’s entry for the band’s 2006 “Let’s Write a Song” project, where fans submitted lyrics that would eventually be worked into the song.
Both Spell Blanket and Distant Call are to be the last offerings from Broadcast, and they’ll arrive via the band’s longtime label, Warp Records. Broadcast have also shared two previews of both demo collections; Spell Blanket’s”Follow the Light” finds the band in their signature mesmerizing style, and Distant Call’s “Tears in the Typing Pool” is a gentle, impressionistic acoustic ballad that would later appear on Tender Buttons. Stream both songs below.
Spell Blanket Album Artwork:
