Audiopile Review: The bittersweet final piece of the Broadcast story has arrived, which follows on from the revealing Spell Blanket, an archival survey of demos and unreleased material covering their 2006-2009 period. Distant Call precedes that, covering demo recordings made during the run from HaHa Sound, Future Crayon and Tender Buttons, that plush mid-period that between their more fragile early work and the cult faux-library experiments that Trish Keenan and James Cargill had immersed themselves in during their final years as a duo. Far more intimate than the buzzing lo-fi psychedelia of Spell Blanket, the demos here reveal the folky origins of tracks that would be fleshed out further in their hypnagogic electronic-pop. Keenan’s heartbreaking sweet vocals and her closely mic’d acoustic guitar are pretty much all that we get here, her admiration of the great British UK folk scene of the late’ 60s-early ’70s are fully revealed. While this influential foundation may not have been as outwardly evident as their clear admiration for ‘60s psych, soundtrack composers, early pioneers of electronic music, or *ahem* Stereolab, it will be impossible to un-hear that folk influence now. A crucial piece of the Broadcast lore has now been unlocked, and this is gonna be revelatory and absolutely essential for long time fans.

Distant Call is a collection of early demos of songs that would subsequently appear as finished productions on the albums Haha Sound, Tender Buttons and The Future Crayon. The album also includes two songs discovered by James after Trish’s passing: “Come Back To Me” and “Please Call To Book”. These were her response to Broadcast’s 2006 ‘Let’s Write A Song’ project, where fans were asked to submit lyrics on a postcard which would then be worked into a finished song. Distant Call is a closing of the door on Broadcast and will be the last release from the band. Distant Call – Collected Demos 2000-2006 will be released via Warp Records on October 4th and available on standard black 2LP and CD.