Cate Brooks - Prismatics (2024)

Brooks looks back to a transitionary period on 'Prismatics', when analogue technology began to disappear and computers took hold, writing scanlined synthscapes that capture the glassy, bombastic excess of the early '80s. Usually focusing her energy on recreating the anxious psychedelia of '70s public information films, Brooks shuffles forward in time to develop a different kind of hauntology on this one, remembering cheap TV themes and commercial soundtracks that tried to make use of nascent digital options. Her synth knowhow is well established at this point, so it's no surprise that the music sounds on point, falling into the fertile spot between Tangerine Dream's underrated 'The Keep' OST and a Dell informercial. 'Chipset' is an early highlight, and picks out what's magical about Brooks' touch; she doesn't try to imprint a contemporary rhythm on top of archaic sounds, but recreates the atmosphere that made the original music so enduringly odd - the tinny drums, unusual plasticky instrumentation and cleaner-than-a-whistle synths. Fans of VHS-warped horror throwbacks might be disappointed, 'Prismatics' is comparatively upbeat material, often veering more towards city pop than B-movie fodder, but if you're into Trunk's more eccentric output, this'll hit the spot.