New Broadcast (RIP Trish Keenan Jan 2011)

a couple listens in i feel like "pendulum" is what had been promised from the beginning and from here the only places to go are back to the radiophonic workshop or in circles round add n to x and middling twee pop. :(

Monday 18.08.03 on xfm (10.30 pm to 1 am, I think)

Tuesday 19.08.03 on John Peel/BBC radio 1 (10 pm to midnight)

'Man Is Not A Bird' echoes 'Pendulum' rhythmically but the vocals are less urgent, more sullen and melancholic - just as haunting overall

'Minim', 'Lunch Hour Pops' and 'Hawk' are my other favourites...i'm not sure its quite as good as 'The Noise Made By People' but i don't know how to rationalise that - i think mitch may have been otm regarding they've pedestrianised things a little with the song structure and the starkness and sheer celebration of sonics inherent in previous work has been a little obscured here by sweet lyrics and dulcit unintrusive tones. i think i like Trish Keenan's voice because of that 'unintrusiveness' aspect - often it just seems like she's there observing and commentating on the song or its scenery rather than really pushing some kind of soul-baring introspection ala Beth Gibbons or whoever. but then if you think back to 'Papercuts', 'Message From Home' or even something like 'Living Room' which sounds more like Sean Lennon singing (may not have been Keenan but hard to tell!) it seems that there was more 'effort' in the singing but acceptance seems to have set in that there's a restricted range to her voice and the new songs have been written with that more in mind (considering the vastness of their forthcoming American tour perhaps this was a good idea). but i don't really know enough about singing to judge her like that. i'll keep listening and loving it anyway.

one thing tho - listen to Broadcast's remix of St Etienne's 'Angel' and perhaps compare Cracknell's vocals on that to Keenan's to see whether a voice more like Cracknell's would work better on other Broadcast material?

Kerrrrrrrazily I HAVE come to love TNMBP over last couple of months and am currently playing it near-constantly, so I dunno. Broadcast may be the ultimate grower group ever ever, although they've had enough hugely-immediate moments (Come On Let's Go, The Book Lovers, etc etc) to suggest that this isn't the case. Haha Sound is fantastic though and I can only see myself getting more into it, rather than going off it.

Current personal best track = 'Valerie' - great tune, the breathy vocals, spooky lullaby quality. I hope they play more UK dates after the monster US tour, as from their ULU showing in May some of these songs sound even stronger live!

Colour Me In, though, does actually sound like it's been written for the soundtrack of Playschool. Which is great.

They are a great band though: on their Peel Session last night they finished with a song ('60/40') that is better than several on the album & they didn't even include it on it! The band build & build, going into accelerating orbit whilst Trish stays cool & calm on the same level all the way through. Magic. If you missed it I am afraid you will have to listen all the way through to nearly the end of the programme to hear it.

No silly album titles for Mary! Hey wait, what's this copy of Your Arsenal doing in your collection? (But I tease Mary. :-))

Mary's jones for Yoko Ono now public (assuming it already wasn't)

thanks v much steve!