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:
Spell Blanket Tracklist:
01. The Song Before The Song Comes Out
02. March Of The Fleas
03. Greater Than Joy
04. Mother Plays Games
05. My Marble Eye
06. Roses Red
07. Hip Bone To Hip Bone
08. Running Back To Me
09. I Blink You Blink
10. Infant Girl
11. I Run In Dreams
12. Luminous Image
13. A Little Light
14. Hairpin Memories
15. My Body
16. Follow The Light
17. Tunnel View
18. Where Are You?
19. Singing Game
20. I Want To Be Fine
21. The Games You Play
22. Grey Grey Skies
23. Puzzle
24. The Clock Is On Fire
25. Petal Alphabet
26. Tell Table
27. Fatherly Veil
28. Dream Power
29. Heartbeat
30. Call Sign
31. Crone Motion
32. Sleeping Bed
33. Join In Together
34. Colour In The Numbers
35. I Am The Bridge
Distant Call Album Artwork:
Distant Call Tracklist:
01. Tears In The Typing Pool [Demo]
02. Still Feels Like Tears [Demo]
03. Come Back To Me [Demo]
04. The Little Bell [Demo]
05. Distant Call [Demo]
06. Valerie [Demo]
07. Colour Me In [Demo]
08. Ominous Cloud [Demo]
09. Flame Left From The Sun [Demo]
10. Where Youth And Laughter Go [Demo]
11. Poem Of A Dead Song [Demo]
12. O How I Miss You [Demo]
13. Pendulum [Demo]
14. Please Call To Book [Demo]