- There's a snowballing trend for retro sounds and styles, but it's getting to the point that the imitations are so spot-on it's almost unnerving. Bristol producer Hyetal's debut album is a laboured '80s synth reproduction on some nearly unbelievable next level of accuracy and facsimile: think M83's Saturdays=Youth with all the pink fog and shoegaze clouds of uncertainty brushed away so all that's left is the sharp metal drums and decisive rhythms.
The first taste we had was "Phoenix" on Orca Recordings, a track that had an uncanny grasp of Miami Vice theatrics, uplifting melodies and a strange co-optation of dubstep structures which helped find it an incredibly receptive audience in pretty much anyone who heard it. Broadcast—wisely including "Phoenix"—comes on Black Acre, an all-purpose Bristol label that makes a fitting home for an album that turns out to be more about rose-tinted introspection than making asses wiggle. BPMs range from 140 to 120, and everywhere in between, with Hyetal paying little mind to the dance floor.
Linn(ish) drums clipped and gated to the boomiest of extremes litter the record in place of dubstep's usual realistic-sounding snares and kicks. So if you've heard "Phoenix," you know what to expect. That said, the limited but lush sonic makeup serves to underline Broadcast's careful sequencing. Hyetal plays with the "Phoenix" formula on tracks like "Beach Scene," a gaudy safari through fake palm trees and cardboard animals, and elsewhere moves beyond into housier territory (the surprise diva vocals of "Searchlight") to pleasing effect.
"Diamond Islands" highlights a melancholic vocal from Alison Garner, providing a human counterpoint to Hyetal's histrionic percussion and shooting-star synths. "Dime Piece" and "Boneyard" dive into the album's darker dimension, replacing the Fairlight glint with watery chorused guitars—think Cocteau Twins or New Order in the wistful hindsight of late '90s IDM (another common nostalgic touchstone). Broadcast even breaks out of its own self-imposed confines with seven-minute closer "Black Black Black," a dubstep-tempo track made almost entirely of big, pseudo-tribal wooden drums that eventually loosens into the album's one moment of outstretched excess.
While it might seem odd to laud someone as an original for essentially replicating an established sound, to do it in the confines of dubstep (originally) and move it so boldly into strange territory is a daring move in itself. There's no shortage of producers in electronic music wearing their sunglasses at night, but Hyetal pulls it off better than most.
Tracklist 01. Ritual
02. Diamond Islands feat. Alison Garner
03. Phoenix
04. Beach Scene
05. The Chase
06. Searchlight
07. Dimepiece
08. Boneyard
09. Transmission
10. Black Black Black feat. Alison Garner