3 out of 5

Label: digital self-release

Produced by: Alan Sinclair.

If you are a Repeated Viewing fan – Alan Sinclair’s synthwave- / horror-soundtrack project – this 12 song selection of demos, the second in a series, is surely a must own. While the tracks are, as per Sinclair, unused for various reasons, calling them ‘demos’ is very much underselling their quality: these are fully realized songs (and “given the full hiss and wobble treatment” – they sound really good), and could definitely stand side-by-side with some of Alan’s official releases.

This is a compilation, though, so there can’t be the usual storytelling, which is key to the immersiveness of Alan’s stuff. However, removing that highlights how well these things can still work in isolation, and perhaps by design – all of these songs do work as standalones: they’re not interstitials, or sound like they demand setup. But we go back to them being a compilation, which means darker ambience is buffered by some pop (Morning Run) and tracks that really would benefit from being part of a full “film,” such as the island bop of the appropriately named Tropical Terror. Sinclair clearly put some thought into sequencing things to make the tonal changeups work; still the experience can’t switch over into full magic mode. And if there is a demo aspect, it’s more in terms of how much Repeated Viewing grew during this time period: assuming there’s some chronlogical ordering here, the first (and presumably earlier) tracks are by-the-books synthwave. Good, varied, and boppy, but not enough to separate Alan from the pack. But about midway through, ambience becomes a key part of the songs, and that’s when we start to cross over into a more “modern” Repeated Viewing sound.

So it’s lighter-weight stuff overall, but still all worthwhile tunes – key for aforementioned fans, but accessible and a lot of fun (if not 100% representative) for any new listener stumbling across this in the wild.