Paperjam

Broadcast - Pendulum ep

Music // Steve // 20th April 2003

Out of the fog come Broadcast, with their collection of ancient noises nicked from Joe Meek's tomb and 2 killer pop tunes.

There's actually six tracks on here, but it's mostly a lot of wheezing and rattling and drums falling down the stairs. "Pendulum" is an eerie stomper if that's possible, with Trish Keenan singing sweetly over the sounds of a guitar being tortured in an echo chamber . "Still feels like tears" is the one you'll be humming in the pub seven hours later, with a daft pop "ahhhh ahhhh" chorus in amongst the fuzzy warmth and motorik beat. The sinister feeling doesn't just come from the sound of old equipment being threatened with hammers, it's also from the way that Keenan sounds so detached and cold.

It's not out yet, I acquired it via the wonder of Soulseek, so I've not seen the cover until just now when I had a look at the Warp site and it is truly terrible, though. Really bad. Look at it...

I've been listening constantly to this, and I love it death, but I'd find it hard to recommend this as a place to start if you've never heard them. You must hear "Come on let's go" and "The book lovers" though, cos they are bloody marvellous shimmering pop tunes.

Pendulum is released on May 5th by Warp.

Other recommended (type these into Soulseek...)

• Come on let's go (from The Noise Made By People lp)
• Illumination ep
• The Book Lovers (from Work and Non-Work lp)

Links

• Official site
• The World Backwards - fan site
• Warp Records