The Album Club: "The Noise Made By People" by Broadcast
 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._by_People.jpg

Next one up. Review, comment, debate, discuss and vote here.

I am a fan of Broadcast and I look forward to revisiting this album. Reviews don't come easy so I'll play this album a few times and probably still won't get around to writing a review. Not that I don't want to write a review. It's most likely I overthink what I to say and end up with writers block. I secretly hold a soft spot in my heart for Trish Keenan, and I don't want to be seen gushing over her. That could be a turn-off for some people, like how some people gush over Led Zeppelin and it drives people crazy and then they're like Chula Vista enough already. I don't want to turn anyone off of Broadcast.

Hmm. Clever. :clap:

.

I kinda agree with Neapolitan about the review thing so I'll just share my 1st impression of the album. (never heard this band before btw)

I started getting into the album around the 3rd track and from then most of the songs got better but some became a little boring. The pacing became a little stale at times for me during this album and it worked for some tracks but not others, but overall, I think it's a decent album.


The highlights for me were the tracks, Come on lets go, Papercuts and Until Then which is the one i liked the most.

Great album. Stereolab obviously comes to mind. Trish Keenan‘s vocals steal the show. The instrumental tracks are cool too though. A couple of the tracks are kind of waltzy. Those tracks suffer from rhythm addiction. Spacey music and those vocals are the ingredients. Fortunately they had the good sense not to try to be any cuter.

Echo’s Answer is the obvious stand out track.

Nice, groovy stuff here. Reminds me a lot of the Swing Out Sister album I threw into the club a few weeks ago. Compared to that thoug, there's a darker mood here that supersedes much of the vaguely psychedelic / sunshine pop romanticism. And damn if Trish Kennan doesn't sound a LOT like Barbara Gaskin, which at least for me adds extra levels of surreality to the music.

8 out of 10

Interesting can you name a specific song to demonstrate?

Different genres but tonally they resemble one another.

I’m just posting that because it seems like another good example.

This album reminded me a little bit of various other artists. A little bit of Portishead, a bit of Francoise Hardy (whom I like), a dash of Bebel Gilberto (ditto), etc.

Sonically, the album generally feels like it tries to sound like it's from the 60's and perhaps late 50's. That's not really a flaw, but I personally prefer when bands explore influences of decades past while still sounding very much of their own time. I mean, this album does sound more modern in a variety of ways, but parts of the album feels very much like worship of older sounds. It's fine, but they didn't really pick my favorite kinda sound. The mellotron like strings especially rub me the wrong way, as I think the band overdoes it a bit here and there.

Can't say I'm in love with how the record sounds, then, but there's some good songwriting. Papercuts and Unchanging Window are the tracks I feel like are real keepers, otherwise I feel like the album is pretty okay, but I'm not really feeling wowed by it.

It's hard to explain it any better than I have (which is not very well), but it's really the soundscapes of this album that I like the least about it. It's a very texturally oriented record and I'm very far from appreciating the aesthetic they're going for.

I could imagine liking another album by this band better, but I don't know.

Voted "meh", which sounds kinda negative for the middle grade, but those are the choices I've been given. Think of it more as an "it's ok" than a "meh".

*woven.

Fixed it. This will make your comment look silly. Hah!

That doesn’t work unless you’re a mod and can ninja edit.

https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7TKy...gZy/source.gif

I can still pretend it worked and feel better about it.

That black lady is going to keep shaking her head at you. It’s a gif. It cycles over and over forever.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/defe5297...ao1_r1_400.gif

My comments always look silly. Hah!

Actually, I'm surprised: I thought the word was supposed to be "moved". Ah well. I still got ya. Now off to the loom with you.

I thought she was just having a seizure.

Am I missing something here? All I see is someone flipping me off and the finger/hand is turning in a circle.... :confused:

That’s the whole story, bitch

Yeahhhh but why are you referring to a black lady shaking her head?

Because of this post


Hittin the Guinness are we?

Not seeing that. Seeing what I posted: a finger rotating.

Edit: right, I see now. He was referring BACK to that gif, but I thought he was referring to the one posted when he made the comment.

Glad to see you agree with me that triangles are the ****. See the "Circle Jerks" thread before you start calling me a retard again.

Oh, the shame...
https://media0.giphy.com/media/oW1egQoq8su4M/giphy.gif

lol

You know I love you Trolls

Are you five years old? If not, sorry, I'm just not interested.

https://media.tenor.co/images/6c26eb...36b2fca0ca/rawhttps://media.tenor.co/images/6c26eb...36b2fca0ca/rawhttps://media.tenor.co/images/6c26eb...36b2fca0ca/rawhttps://media.tenor.co/images/6c26eb...36b2fca0ca/raw

From what I can see, none of those people are five years old. And some are ... not ... quite ... er, white ... so, no thanks. :D

NOW we're talkin'! :clap:

I'm glad this was resolved before I had time to step in :laughing:

A great album by a great band and one of my all-time favorite debut albums. Musicianship, lyrics, vocals, arranging, mixing (except for a couple of minor things I would've changed), production, everything comes together beautifully on this one. The album has a 60's vibe without sounding too dated or retro. It sounds of the past yet modern at the same time. Some of it reminds me of 60's pop, similar to Lulu and some of it brings to mind the psych-pop of Love and the film scores of Ennio Morricone with instrumental interludes between songs that make me think of Daphne Oram. There's also an underlying, mildly unsettling vibe running through most of the album which makes it all the more interesting to me. A brilliant debut album from a very talented group.

9.7/10

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?

Initially, it gave me a real feeling of seventies Waits. The singer's voice was pleasant, though nothing terribly impressive I must admit.

2. What did you think of the opening track?

First track was good, sort of downbeat and set the tone for the album pretty much.

3. What did you think of the next track?

Also nice, kind of similar to the opener. A little boring.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions? (see note 1)
She was all right. Didn't love her, didn't hate her.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not? (see note 2)

Yeah the music was nice, and there were some surprises

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?

Better

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?

Her vocal style was such that I kind of couldn't quite make out the lyrics, but I wasn't that bothered to go looking up a lyric sheet

8. Did you like the instrumental parts? (see note 3)

Very much. There were some really nice and weird touches in, for instance, “Minus One” (a full instrumental) which had very proggy chops and also a kind of Twilight Zone feel to it, and I love the riff in “Paper Cuts”, as well as the one in “You Can Fall”, to name just two others.

9. What did you think of the production?

n/a

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?

No and no

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?

I've listened to this kind of pop/synthpop before, yes

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?

Initially, more, but on the third listen I started to like it less. I began to get a little bored with it. And then on the fourth I got into it again. Now, I don't know. I think I like it more than I dislike it though.

13. What would you class as your favourite track(s), if you have any?

“Minus One”, “Come on Let's Go”, “Echo's Answer”, “Paper Cuts”, “You Can Fall” - pretty much everything after the first two tracks.

14. And the one(s) you liked least?

The first two, though I didn't hate them, just didn't like them as much as the rest of the album.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated? (see note 4)

n/a

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?

Probably not. I wouldn't avoid it, but I wouldn't actively search it out

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?

Not really. Psy-Fi usually picks good albums.

18. Did the album end well?

Yes. I really like the closer. Had great atmosphere and really finished the album on a high note for me.


19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?

Not really. I mean, it's not brilliant, but I don't see anything that could be done to make it better. It's not that there's anything done wrong, just that I consider it a decent but unremarkable album.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?

Hard to say. I guess it held together okay.

Give this a good 7/10. No wait, 8/10. Yeah.