Birmingham's BRAODCAST have been one of the more consistently innovative of the UK post-rockers kicking around in recent years and this 6-track EP (mini-album? Forthcoming LP taster? - YOU decide) again shows their collective mind remains fertile.
"Pendulum" itself bursts into life via squelchy, analogous textures and Neil Bullock's tenacious drumming. Trish Keenan's angelic vocals add a nice counterpoint to the track's nervy intent, before the whole thing settles into an extremely Can-like groove with some controlled Michael Karoli-esque guitar interjections from Tim Felton.
It's a memorable start, but the EP has much more to offer. "Small Song 4" and "Still Feels Like Tears" both also benefit from Keenan's sweetly unsettling larynx, with the latter especially a spooked, hypnotic treat, while the weirdly angular jazz explosions of the two intrumentals "One Hour Empire" and "Violent Playground" spice the plot with some bizarre, jarring dissonance.
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None of which truly prepares you for the closing "Minus Two": a collaboration with Richard Whitelaw from the Birmingham Electro-Acoustic Theatre, where he culls snippets from tracks destined for the new Broadcast album and runs them together in a staggering (and sometimes disturbing) sound collage, aural William Burroughs stylee. The overall effect is oddly disquieting and closer to Warp's customary hard-edged electronica than anything else here.
Broadcast, then, remain a band you should stay tuned into. "Pendulum" swings low and mesmeric, pregnant with sonic possibility.
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