Customer Reviews

the Future Crayon

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I have to admit that I've never been wild about the B-sides from Broadcast -- as much as I adore "Haha Sound" and "The Noise Made By People," but their early doodlings in "Work and Non-Work" just never grabbed me.

Fortunately their later B-sides, UK EPs, rarities and discards are far superior, as displayed in "Future Crayon." While not perfect -- some songs just never gel together as music -- some of the songs on here are perfect gems, and others are just chilly trippy music.

It open with the steady, solid "Illumination," where a steady bassline is wrapped up in airy synth, while Trish Keenan's clear voice croons a hard-to-decipher song. The music gets even harder in the second song, which is a droning ballad that sounds like a robot love song.

From there on, the spattering of B-sides and rarities takes all sorts of directions -- they do twinkly yet ominous pop melodies, meditative noodling, abrasive little sci-fi jazz numbers that never really form into songs, Middle-Eastern trip-hop, buzzy folk, angular electronica, and airy ambient numbers that drift off while you listen to them.

It's hard to really describe the sound of Broadcast, while avoiding words like "retro." In fact, it doesn't really sound like a retro band, but like a bunch of ghosts and meditative robots who have formed a sixties cover band, and are playing on a wintry morning. Yep, that's how it really sounds at times.

And the surprising thing about "Futuristic Crayon" is that many of the songs do seem to fit together, even though they were not made as an album -- the buzzy synth and ambiguous melodies tie together from song to song, so that if you didn't know better, you might think they had all been made together. Even in the folkier numbers like "Unchanging Window/Chord Simple," they put in some fuzz bass and touches of electronica.

There are a few duds, however -- "One Hour Empire" is basically one long drum solo with some flourishes thrown in, and it never actually becomes something listenable. And some of the songs just need tightening up, since they have bits that just waffle around aimlessly.

Trish Keenan's voice is one of Broadcast's most important assets -- her voice is clear, cool and thoughtful. James Cargill's music serves as the perfect backdrop for her singing and the cool, intelligent lyrics. "Some words cannot be bound/no anchor can be found/this land which used/will be too confused/and when they shake your hand/the ground will break away..."

If those few dud tracks had been excised, "Future Crayon" could have been the rare B-sides album that is mistaken for a full-length release. Like a flawed but still beautiful crystal.

Broadcast has always been a big favorite of mine. They have been in California many times in the past few years. There are two great albums, and now like a collection of b-sides and rarities. Maybe not so new to the hardcore Broadcast fan. A majority of the material was done in 1999-2001. There are some songs from the Pendulum EP too. This CD represents the more experiment and more non-commercial side of the band. Most of it comes from rare and hard to find releases, mostly on Warp Records. It is an excellent bunch of songs. I am glad that Broadcast is able to show off their many sides.

Although a collection of B-sides, EP tracks and rarities, The Future Crayon is a great starting point for people new to Broadcast's blend of dreamy pop, experimental electronica and psychedelic rock.

Most of these tracks were recorded between 2000 and 2003, a very fruitful period for the group. Opener "Illumination" is one of the finest songs they've ever recorded, with it's one note picked bass line, swelling ambient strings and Trish Keenen's stoned vocal delivery. Elsewhere the band glides effortlessly from krautrock influenced pop ("Still Feels Like Tears"), to jazz improv wierdness ("One Hour Empire"), to space-age lounge ("Daves Dream"), and even into noisy electronic sound-collage ("Minus Two"), without ever sounding the least bit pretentious.

The band have often been compared to Stereolab, and with good reason, they share their love of analog synths, propulsive beats, ambient drone and experimentation, but Broadcast are by no means followers.

About halfway through, vocals take a backseat for several instrumentals, including "Test Area" which starts as a laidback, hazy jam but morphs into a sinister rocker, like a trip turning for the worst. Then there's "A Man For Atlantis", a schizophrenic little number which can't decide whether it wants to be choppy electro hip-hop or futuristic doo-wop, jumping between the two with no shortage of blips and blurps along the way.

Probably my favorite though, is "Unchanging Window/Chord Simple", an extended and more tripped-out version of a song from their 2000 album The Noise Made By People. This sounds kind of like if Jefferson Airplane relocated to Mars for an acid kool-aid test in outer space.

And just when you think there can't possibly be any surprises left, Broadcast pull one final trick out of their sleeve. The album closes with "Bellydance", a funky little instrumental taken from the soundtrack to an imaginary spaghetti western, complete with 8-bit video game sound effects.

I also have to point out the wonderful musicianship throughout. Although there's no information on who played what in the booklet, Trish Keenen has a fantastic voice, at times whimsical and others monotone, like a sexy android. The drummer is phenomenal, whether just keeping a steady rhythm or spazzing out on some funked up jazzy beats. A lot of the time you can't even tell what instrument you're hearing, is it heavily treated electric guitar, tweeked keyboards or some alien instrument only they have possesion of?

At 18 tracks and almost 70 minutes of wonderful sounds, you really can't go wrong. Brilliant stuff here indeed. Broadcast are definitely one of the most exciting, challenging and rewarding bands working today. Highly recommended.

It's every collector's worst nightmare: all the singles and EPs and rarities we've been hording finally gets compiled in one place. So be it: Broadcast's _The Future Crayon_, while it doesn't hold together as an album, per se, still has moments of heartstopping beauty. For instance, the haunting "Illumination" is like a a break-up in gorgeous slow motion, while "Where Youth and Laughter Go" feels like the soundtrack to a 60s Antonioni film. The spare "Distant Call" relies, initially, on Keegan's voice until it gives way to a lovely tonal melody in its second half. Elsewhere, the sweet and romantic "Locusts" also rubs elbows with a long, dissociated outro. Indeed, Broadcast indulges its instrumental side, with the thickly sonic "Hammer Without a Master" or the more melancholic "Chord Simple" (which only gets better when paired with "Unchanging Window"). For those who like tropicalia, "Daves Dream" is a curious confection. They also get to highlight some of their more experimental moments, like the strange feedback that infects the delicate "Small Song IV" or the random detritus of "DDL." And is that a 60's girl group piano-chord rhythm I hear in the background of "A Man for Atlantis"? "Belly Dance" closes the album on a driving note, leaning on Middle Eastern influences like it's playing beneath a _Laurence of Arabia_ battle sequence. My only quibble: no Two Lone Swordsmen remix of "Come On Let's Go"? For shame.

I stumbled across this band on another site, and sort of picked this album at random. I started listening to the samples and pretty quickly took a liking to it. But just now I found out that this is a b-sides/rarities compilation! Wow, I can't wait to hear what an actual album sounds like!
The songs themselves are mostly laid-back experimental pop songs with synth and vintage-sounding live instruments. They strike a good balance between tunefulness and experimentation, keeping it fresh and interesting but still goes down smoothly.

How can someone say they do not like Work and Non-Work!? That is a great album! Okay, now getting back to Furure Crayon! This has some good 60's Psychedelics on this album as well as Electronic Melodies! I am buying the vinly this weekend! Get this album if you enjoy their other work!