Spell Blanket: Collected Demos 2006-2009 in Bloomington, MN

With the 2022 reissues of the rare releases
Mother Is the Milky Way
and
Microtronics, Vols. 1-2
,
Broadcast
filled some of the gaps in their discography but also raised a question: What else remained in their vault? The answer came in the form of
Spell Blanket: Collected Demos 2006-2009
Distant Call: Collected Demos 2000-2006
, a pair of 2024 collections that dug deep into the pioneering electronic pop group's archive of works in progress. Gathering the songs
James Cargill
Trish Keenan
were working on for their fifth album prior to
Keenan
's untimely death in 2011,
Spell Blanket
is an unvarnished glimpse into their creative process. The tracks differ widely in their completion and complexity: One of the rawest pieces, "The Song Before the Song Comes Out"'s circular melody takes shape as
goes for a walk; by contrast, "Follow the Light" is all crystalline restraint. The constantly changing sonics create an appealing patchwork of atmospheres that are more expressive than polished studio recordings as they span the
Grouper
-esque distortion and echo of "March of the Fleas," the watery reverb of "Tunnel View," and the mind-expanding choral clarity of "Greater Than Joy." There's nearly as much variety in the sounds
explore on
. Echoes of
Tender Buttons
' minimalist pop resurface on the breezy heartbreak of "The Games You Play" and "Hairpin Memories" revisits
Broadcast and the Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age
's pagan folk, but "Hip Bone to Hip Bone"'s slinky melody evokes the retro-futuristic elegance of
The Noise Made by People
and "Roses Red" makes
Haha Sound
's spiky psych-rock even more insistent with synths that suggest both feedback and pennywhistles. Hearing all the possibilities coursing through
is a sizeable part of its charm, but the way it brings listeners closer to
Cargill
's music is what makes it sublime. Hymnal pieces like "Join in Together" and "I Am the Bridge" hint at how many of the finest moments emphasize the humanity within
's songs. There's a fullness to
's lyrics that brings out the empathy of her writing as well as its mystery and beauty, whether she combines the emotions and intellect with "Petal Alphabet"'s "love cerebral hugs" or lets the dualities of powerful feelings wash over her on "I Want to Be Fine" ("I wanna be fine/I wanna be crying/I don't wanna be fine"). Though
's familiar imagery -- clocks, tears, colors -- abounds, so does familial imagery, and the ambivalence lurking in the bewitching psych-folk of "Mother Plays Games," "Infant Girl," and "Fatherly Veil" makes for fascinating listening. Most endearing of all is "Colour in the Numbers," the kind of winsome, cryptic song-puzzle that
's admirers and imitators have never been able to recreate. Being able to hear any previously unreleased
music is a thrill, but discovering the raw brilliance of the music on
is a true privilege. ~ Heather Phares