Tycho - Weather (LP) - 45RPM

Tycho’s Weather arrived in July 2019 as a gentle swerve that still felt true to Scott Hansen’s sun‑washed world. After years of building instrumental daydreams, he invited a human voice into the frame, with vocalist Hannah Cottrell, aka Saint Sinner, threading melodies through his familiar mix of analogue synths, interlocking guitars and crisp live drums. It’s the kind of shift that can spook long‑time fans, but here it lands like opening a window and letting the sea air in.

The album wastes no time setting the tone. Easy rolls in on a glassy synth motif and a patient pulse that feels like first light on a winter beach. The production is clean without feeling sterile, a hallmark of Tycho vinyl across the catalogue. You can hear the care in how each element sits, the way the bass cushions the drums so the high end can shimmer. When Saint Sinner enters on Pink & Blue, the record’s intent clicks. Her voice doesn’t dominate as much as it becomes another textural line, soft enough to ride the chime of guitars, clear enough to give shape to feelings Tycho usually paints wordlessly. It’s a subtle recalibration that adds narrative without crowding the space.

Japan is the obvious earworm. Tycho has always been good at melodies that feel both nostalgic and newly minted, and Japan nails that sweet spot. The hook is simple, almost toy‑box bright, yet the surrounding details keep it grounded, from the flicker of guitar harmonics to the way the drums push forward in the chorus. There’s an instrumental version out there, and it highlights the central trick of Weather. These songs work as pure soundscapes, yet the vocals lend them an anchor, a point of connection if you’re not usually one for ambient‑leaning electronics.

Weather earned a Grammy nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album, which made sense not because it chases the dancefloor, but because it sharpens Tycho’s language into concise, song‑shaped statements. Hansen talked around release about wanting to create a dedicated vocal record, then mirror it with an instrumental companion. He followed through with Simulcast in 2020, reworking Weather’s themes into wordless pieces. Taken together, they feel like two sides of the same postcard, one with a message, the other just the image.

Longtime collaborators from the live band bring a human touch to the arrangements. You can feel the snap of real drums and the grain of guitar strings even when the synths take centre stage. The pacing is measured, more coastal drive than freeway sprint, and that restraint helps the choruses bloom without drama. The design nerds will note the artwork too. Hansen’s background as a visual artist has always carried through to the sleeves, and Weather’s cover keeps that minimal, sun‑bleached geometry that looks especially handsome on Weather vinyl.

As a front‑to‑back listen, the record plays like a late afternoon, unhurried but not sleepy. The production leans on warm, rounded tones rather than brittle highs, which makes it a forgiving spin on home setups. If you’ve ever wondered why people fuss over Tycho albums on vinyl, this is a neat entry point. The low end breathes, cymbals don’t smear, and those arpeggios feel tactile. It’s the sort of album I point out when someone wanders into a Melbourne record store asking for something electronic but not aggressive, melodic but not cheesy. If you’re digging through crates of vinyl records Australia wide, it’s an easy staff‑pick recommendation.

For collectors, Tycho vinyl tends to hold up well over time, and Weather is no exception. The pressing is quiet, the packaging sturdy, and the sequencing suits a side‑A/side‑B flip. If you prefer to buy Tycho records online, keep an eye on limited colour variants that occasionally surface, since the visual presentation is half the fun with this project. Paired with earlier releases like Dive and Epoch, you can trace the arc from downtempo instrumentals to this more song‑forward chapter, then loop back to Simulcast to hear the same DNA stripped of vocals.

Some fans missed the old wordless sprawl, and that’s fair. But Weather doesn’t close any doors. It adds another route into Tycho’s world, one where the sun still hangs low in the sky, the synths still glow, and a human voice glides through the light. On a turntable, that balance really sings, and it’s hard not to think this is how the record was meant to be heard.