AMERICA’S BOY

I really hoped that Broadcast’s Tender Buttons would pull me into a new obsession.

The Noise Made by People had some moments of admirable melancholia, and weird forward/backward sonics. It dragged a bit in spots, but overall it was several ticks above simply distracting.

I had high expectations for Ha Ha Sound, and they were met. The sonics remained weird, in a different, percussive way, and the songs were more illuminated. This was lushness with hard corners…

So when Tender Buttons rolled around, I was ripe for the plucking. But while I find it to be a logical evolution from Ha Ha Sound, there is a clinical air that is keeping me at bay. And secretly I wonder if the cover— a mirror close-up of singer Trish— is a bit of a cry for help.

I suppose a move from Stereolab to Broadcast would’ve been pretty lateral, in the end. Not like the last shift, from The Pogues to Stereolab.

Ah, The Pogues. Let me tell you a little about The Pogues…