No, The Signal’s Just Fine.
Broadcast are not your cooler older brother’s Saint Etienne, nor your indie-rock friends Stereolab, though you might be led to believe so if you’ve heard “The Book Lovers,” from the first Austin Powers movie soundtrack- which was presumably compiled as an eclectic mix of undercover spy songs that would have the listener imagining a drive back to their 60s era space age bachelor pad in a Union Jack Mini sport coupe. Their second flirtation with a wider audience came with the song “Before We Begin,” which was featured on the season four finale of The L Word.
“Before We Begin” comes from their 2003 sophomore record Haha Sound, and Broadcast have since then shrank from a five-piece into a duo. Don’t let the title fool you- their 1999 debut, The Noise Made by People, may have been their most accessible (see the single “Papercuts“) depending one’s aversion to distortion, which has progressively become more dominant with each of their releases. For instance, the sounds heard on their third LP, 2005’s Tender Buttons, was anything but, though there’s a wonderful delicacy to be found in the grainy, light-hearted melodies that work in tandem with the voice of singer Trish Keenan. Keenan’s vocals are in fact, so reminiscent of the lullabies you heard as a child that you may find yourself singing along after a few listens.
After releasing The Future Crayon back in 2006- a compilation of material found on their EPs, the group has returned with a new EP titled Broadcast & the Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age. Hold your preconceptions as you would, or should, when listening to any of their releases, as those fond of the beauty within the static are sure to be rewarded.
Broadcast & the Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age (do yourself a favor and copy/paste into your search engine bar) is available now on iTunes and will be released on CD October 27 through Warp.
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