BROADCAST
THE NOISE MADE FOR PEOPLE
ALBUM WARP RELEASE: MARCH 27, 2000
REVIEW: APRIL 14, 2000
From a band thanking Tom "Squarepusher" Jenkinson as well as Tim and Laetitia
of Stereolab, you expect intelligent, quirky music with an academic bent. Not
so with Broadcast.
Their analogue electronics fuse elegantly with an almost old fashioned mode of
song writing. This is a record of waltzes, sweet British pop in the Saint Etienne
or Dubstar tradition and elegant film scores. Singer Trish Keenans vocals make
sure that Broadcast never lose themselves in the boring, droning sound experiments
common to this genre. Instead they are focusing on powerful melodies and clear
song structures.
The most beautiful songs sound like otherworldly lullabies. Here and there, notably
on "You Can Fall", an air of thrilling mystique and orientalism sneaks in, while
songs like "Come on Let's Go" are straightforward, melancholic pop to die for.
There are lots of bands nowadays lifting keyboards and samples to the forefront,
but keeping an instrumental rock setting with bass, guitar and drums. What could
previously be neatly categorized as post rock, kraut, or whatever, has evolved
into something wonderfully diverse and label resistant? Whatever we like to call
it, Broadcast is right at the top weaving the melodies of the future together
with fellow Brits like Laika, narrowing the gap between man and machine.
