I would like to make a motion that Broadcast should be named a genre in 2016. There are so many musicians making sounds currently that are clear disciples of the band (think 60s soundtracks, library music, psych-rock, sunshine pop, baroque choral groups, electronic music, freak-folk) that I feel like when a comparison to Broadcast is made, we all know the kind of journey our ears will be taken on. It will be interesting, beautiful, and a haunting listen.
The Big Eye Family Players are my most recent obsession along these lines. Imagine if the Cocteau Twins made the soundtrack for The Wicker Man. This is a the kind of gorgeous, dense, dream like fog this Sheffield, England group makes. Their new album Oh! was released earlier this year on Home Assembly Music and lives on my short list of 2016 albums I love so far.
Here is a little playlist I put together to better explain Broadcast as a genre.
Showing posts with label Trish Keenan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trish Keenan. Show all posts
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Thursday, January 28, 2016
New Album Alert : Charlie Hilton - Palana
Women in music can't win. If we raise our voice to a yell, people accuse us of trying to be too masculine, or wonder why we are so angry. If we use a feathery, airy vocal approach, we are accused of playing up our femininity in a way that somehow makes our art less potent. If our lyrics are too personal, go to dark places, we are reviewed as morose to our detriment. Conversely if we write in a less serious, more playful tone, we are branded idealist, immature, or too candycoated. Damned if we do, damned if we don't.
The media critique of Charlie Hilton's Palana contains a bit of this kind of misunderstanding and complaint. It is almost like saying a painting has failed because the the medium of watercolor is too transparent, a pastel too subtle of a color, silver too reflective, or a pencil shadow is too soft. These are tools and palette choices of an artist and whatever artist does with those things is exactly what makes them, well, them. These 12 songs are a muted mirror to the artist. Her tone and stories are taken from the personal journey that moves like a dream, confounds as to what is a lasting crisis verse the temporary growing pains towards becoming a new self. For those who don't have the pleasure of making songs as an exploration of self, this is a shimmering example of this process and the healing that can come from excavating the dark channels of the imagination. Palana was inspired in part by the often misunderstood novel Steppenwolf by Hermann Hess. Both bodies of work reflect a miserable, lost person seeking to be found or potentially reborn. Rather than focus on the pessimism of the book or this record, the better takeaway is the complex philosophical prism they have created. Lonely in a crowd. Happy in sadness. Part human, part animal. Stuck but running through the motions of life.
Palana is Charlie Hilton's first solo album. Previously she has been a member of the Portland, OR trio Blouse however fans will not discover a wildly different vocal brush stroke here. Comparisons to Broadcast, Nico, and Astrud Gilberto still hold true however the rainy day retro paired with modern electronics make this a fresh and lovely listen. Like any good story the plot is dotted with strife, conflict, astute observations, humor, romance, and told with a narrative that is direct and engaging. The music doesn't amplify the drama, Hilton presents her thoughts like a gentle echo.
On a side note, is it just me or does Hilton's album art look a little bit like Gainsbourg 9th studio album with Brigitte Bardot? I love the visual tribute to what could easily be a psych-pop French '60s album or an early Bossa Nova record.
The media critique of Charlie Hilton's Palana contains a bit of this kind of misunderstanding and complaint. It is almost like saying a painting has failed because the the medium of watercolor is too transparent, a pastel too subtle of a color, silver too reflective, or a pencil shadow is too soft. These are tools and palette choices of an artist and whatever artist does with those things is exactly what makes them, well, them. These 12 songs are a muted mirror to the artist. Her tone and stories are taken from the personal journey that moves like a dream, confounds as to what is a lasting crisis verse the temporary growing pains towards becoming a new self. For those who don't have the pleasure of making songs as an exploration of self, this is a shimmering example of this process and the healing that can come from excavating the dark channels of the imagination. Palana was inspired in part by the often misunderstood novel Steppenwolf by Hermann Hess. Both bodies of work reflect a miserable, lost person seeking to be found or potentially reborn. Rather than focus on the pessimism of the book or this record, the better takeaway is the complex philosophical prism they have created. Lonely in a crowd. Happy in sadness. Part human, part animal. Stuck but running through the motions of life.
Palana is Charlie Hilton's first solo album. Previously she has been a member of the Portland, OR trio Blouse however fans will not discover a wildly different vocal brush stroke here. Comparisons to Broadcast, Nico, and Astrud Gilberto still hold true however the rainy day retro paired with modern electronics make this a fresh and lovely listen. Like any good story the plot is dotted with strife, conflict, astute observations, humor, romance, and told with a narrative that is direct and engaging. The music doesn't amplify the drama, Hilton presents her thoughts like a gentle echo.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Remembering Trish Keenan
Five years ago musician Trish Keenan of Broadcast fame passed away at age 42 from pneumonia. Still missing her talent very much today. She was and will forever will be an inspiration to me.
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