Broadcast – Haha Sound

WARPLP106R arrived in the post this morning and I notice that it's in a tip-on jacket. Was this the case on the original vinyl issue?

Sadly singer Trish Keenan ed away a few days ago so i felt it was time to pay justice and homage to Broadcast, a contemporary fantasized swinging 60s band like no other. Their sound and aesthetics are echoing a legendary period almost better than the original, as if living 35 years after the dreamed times allows to recut and keep only the bettered, filtered fantasy of these. This shows particularily on a song like "Man Is Not A Bird", an insane faultless trip through James Bond/John Barry Soundtracks, library music, Avengers' imagery, early Syd-Barrett perfumed Pink Floyd, subtle Elephant's Memory-like 60s obscure bands to listen to while a gentle, hazy mermaid gently drops the rarest sort of LSD in your tea while hypnotizing you with her endless pale blue eyes. As stated on some of the best 60s psychedelic pop records' sleeves, "this music is deep blue with delicate rose flashes". Thanks and memory due to miss Keenan for these moments of cascading, echoing, melodic beauty.

Broadcast seem to continue their angular pop fashions with <I>Ha Ha Sound</I>, their second full album. Even though their melodies are as slanted as ever, this album isn’t quite as compelling as <I>The Noise Made By People</I>. “Pendulum,” the first single, doesn’t quite make the impact that it should -- it sounds more like Ladytron than the Broadcast we know and love. “Before We Begin” is Burt Bacharach on acid; “Man Is Not a Bird” and “Lunch Hour Pope” are both similarly peppy. Contrast that to the percussive assault of “Black Umbrellas” and “Distorsion.” Their playful experimentalism is definitely still at work, and though the tracks are of excellent quality (miles better than most pop music out there), the songs on <I>Ha Ha Sound</I> don’t feel as strong as some of their earlier work.

Broadcast return with their long-awaited third album on Warp Records, over three years since their last LP. The songs here bear their typically retro style, sounding like they could've been written in the sixties and yet they don't sound dated. They cover a broad range of moods too, from the dreamy, downtempo ballad of Winter Now to the carefree, upbeat Minim, from the contemplative, beatless Valerie to the gentle, quirky ditty The Little Bell.

The fairytale lullaby vocals of Trish Keenan are a vital element of Broadcast's sound but the band is far from ineffective without them. As on their previous releases, a few instrumental tracks feature amongst the vocal ones to good effect, for example Distorsion where new drummer Neil Bullock provides a jazz drum jam-session overlaid with psychedelic notes which makes a great track although the minute-long Black Umbrellas with its simple accelerating percussion is less engaging.

The stand-out tracks for me are Ominous Clouds with its airy yet thoughtful vocals, Man Is Not A Bird with a lo-fi drum work-out and fun (literally!) bubbly outro and the excellent Pendulum with its funky analogue bassline which was well deserving of its release as the title-track on their recent EP. Overall Broadcast's latest offering has many memorable moments which will stick pleasantly in your brain and the album is a worthy tribute, dedicated as it is to the memory of Warp co-founder Rob Mitchell who personally championed and ed the band.