Tycho
Awake Album Review
Ghostly International Records
Released March 18, 2014
Genre: Instrumental Rock, Ambient, Chillwave
Tycho’s previous album Dive delivered an underrated, if not, unnoticed release from the Sacramento producer, visual artist and musician Scott Hansen in 2011. Awake finds Hansen improving on his atmospheric, chilly sound, using a more emotive, direct, and wistful approach towards his music. Hansen’s organic, electronic compositions on Dive drew from electronic artists such as Bibio and Boards of Canada, the latter who released their critically acclaimed Tomorrow’s Harvest in 2013. Here, Hansen builds upon the synth based sound using rock influences; the stark shift in his music pays off adequately as Hansen leaves behind the electronic genius that his past two albums have defined him as.
2010’s Past Is Prologue found Hansen’s music muddied, propulsive and imaginative while 2011’s Dive found the compositions more refined, sharper, and more ambitious, the sounds, more soothing, explaining the “chillwave” label it was so rightfully given. Behind all this, Hansen’s music worked wonders beyond conceptual techniques: his songs spoke messages without words and evoked meanings without explicit communication, all while gorgeously illustrating the idea and landscapes his music had been trying to draw out for the past twelve years of his career. The textures, tones and structures on Awake shouldn’t be any different, and they are as soothing and refined as they are adventurous.
The ambient genre as a whole aims to imitate an atmosphere of space, tone and sound, not necessarily following any specific song structure; and while ambient music strives to capture the everyday tones, white noise and sounds we hear in the dead of the night or in the silence of our homes, Hansen brilliantly captures the imaginative landscapes that our minds travel to in our daydreams, avidly exploring beyond the realms of tone and sound with elements of rock built on top.
The opening track “Awake” is driven by U2-esque guitar tones and a beat that balances out the wonky synths used in the background, while the moody “Montana” displays a subtle yet emotive power with drums anchoring the track. However, the clean guitar tones become really redundant and bland throughout it’s almost six minute length, formulating a sound that lacks both ambition and potency. Despite this mishap, Hansen’s resourceful sense of keeping the tracks interesting, by using indie rock elements to push the synthetic and electronic personality of his music into background, building upon his past works while still tying back to his Past Is Prologue days. Even the dizzying track “L” reminisces on Hansen’s past works as oscillating synths, and sharp claps penetrate the cloudy atmosphere.
The moments on Awake are brief yet grandiose, simple yet intricate, and at its core, these contradictions drive the album’s energy towards imaginative and atmospheric realms of recondite sights and sounds, loaded with enough warmth and soul to shake even the most callous of people. There’s the gentle plucking of “Spectre” and the fuzzy bass on “Apogee” to showcase a variety of elements that Hansen uses to his own advantage. Around this point on this album the mood quickly changes from ecstatic to pensive; it’s the album closer “Plains,” where nods to post-rock and drone close the album off on a blurry, if not, sorrowful note. With the amount of passion, emotion and conviction shown, Hansen’s next project can go anywhere. Awake is a modern testament to the sadness in our lives that we so desperately try to push away.
I hate to stereotype, but this is the album that the hipster kids will be listening to in the summer where their minds are set on the glorious and sun soaked days ahead. Where the days are filled with hanging out with friends and driving around, and the nights are filled with mischievous antics and three in the morning Whataburger runs. Yet, they can never escape the fact that the end is very near, and the future is as unpredictable and uncertain as ever, a future where nothing is promised or granted. The fact that Hansen can communicate these feelings without words makes the message more powerful and meaningful; this is music that both reassures and moves, a plea to enjoy what you have now before it all fades away.
 PRETTY NEAT MUSIC
BEST TRACKS: Awake, L, Dye, See, Apogee, Spectre, Plains
WORST TRACK: Montana
