When I first heard of the band, Broadcast, it was because one year ago, Spotify recommended me their song “Tears in the Typing Pool”. The song has emotion while maintaining a limited number of instruments. I didn’t really think much about them until about two or three months ago, when Spotify recommended their compilation album Work and Non Work. Intrigued by the fuzzy 60s soundtrack ambience and the antique dream-pop, syncopated sound, I searched up the band to learn more when I found out that the lead singer, Trish Keenan, unfortunately passed away in 2011. This was deeply upsetting and left a feeling that Broadcast’s musical journey ended prematurely, but it also led me to have a deeper appreciation for the band and for the limited time that we all have. And soon, I started to become hooked on Broadcast, making them one of my favorite bands of all time. But, the reason I have written this article is not purely to gush about Broadcast (even though they’re awesome). The 25th anniversary of Broadcast’s album The Noise Made By People happened not too long ago (March 20, 2025), and another album by Broadcast, Tender Buttons, will celebrate its 20th birthday on September 18th of this year. Both albums sound starkly different from one another, but they both carry Broadcast’s core principles— cohesive melodies and lyrics that are both stream-of-consciousness and a genuine representation of Trish’s emotions and experiences.
The Noise Made By People was Broadcast’s debut album, released in 2000. This album has an atmospheric sound with gentle, deliberate, antique, almost metallic instrumentation, including the manipulation of synths to get a bell-like sound. My favorite song from that album would be “Echo’s Answer”, which has haunting, wintry instrumentation that would leave the listener in an endless expanse if it weren’t for Trish’s calming and comforting voice gently guiding the listener through the four-minute song. “Until Then” is also one of my favorite songs because it is gentle, yet also feels as if something needs to be said. The track starts out with a sense of longing, yet there’s also a sense of hope in the lyrics (“And until then none of us have anything”). As the song progresses, the guitars build up, creating a fuller sound. But even then, it still remains gentle and comforting. Moreover, many tracks on this album have complex chord progressions, especially “Papercuts,” which has a base key signature of C minor, although it doesn’t seem to have a set key signature throughout the song; the chorus leans towards C major with some undertones of other key signatures. All in all, the album has a consistent sound to it. When I listen to it, it feels like I’m walking through a charming abandoned town that is waiting to be rebuilt (a “City in Progress” reference!). Tender Buttons, which bears the same name as Gertrude Stein’s experimental prose book from 1914, was released in 2005, almost 20 years ago. A striking thing about this album is how it diverges from their previous albums. Although Broadcast was not immune to change, as their sound did shift from The Noise Made By People and Haha Sound, Tender Buttons was a huge step away. This probably had a lot to do with the fact that Broadcast was reduced to Trish and her husband and longtime bandmate, James Cargill. Tender Buttons heavily utilized the now-outdated VST (a type of plugin that can be added to digital audio workstations to add extra instruments or functions) QuadraSID, a Commodore 64 sound emulator. This sound chip can be heard particularly well in “Corporeal”. The synth at the beginning of this song almost sounds 8-bit in some ways, but it also drones on melodically, providing a contrast between sharpness and melody. Most of all, Broadcast was able to show their ability to capture different moods and use their instruments to their fullest capability by adding songs that are very different from one another, yet when placed against one another, create a cohesive album. For example, the song “America’s Boy” has harsher synths and a more forceful drum beat while “Tears in the Typing Pool” and “You and Me in Time” possess more pensive lyrics and atmospheric yet sparse instrumentation that makes the listener feel like they are in an artist’s rendering of nature. However, one of the things that stood out most to me were the lyrics. The lyrics in this album diverged from traditional sentence structure, particularly in “Corporeal”; I especially like the lyrics “We are mankind/We are manikin/ With and without mind/With or without Darwin,” and I feel that these lyrics in particular represent the loose writing style on this album. With mellotron (an antique electronic instrument that emulated acoustic instruments) flutes that gently guide the listener, “Tears in the Typing Pool” shares the same loose lyricism, but this song reflects on more personal experiences. The song is open-ended and up to interpretation, with one interpretation being that it is a song about accepting loss/grief despite the difficulty of doing so. Online sources also say that Trish wrote this song while her father was dying of terminal illness. As a band of contradictions, Broadcast’s change of sound and direction from album to album shows their experimentation. The Noise Made By People’s metallic yet gentle sound is a stark contrast to the juxtaposition which is Tender Buttons, which combines abrasive synths with reflective lyrics that float in the air, waiting for the listener to interpret them as they wish. This band has taught me that contradictions can be beautiful in many ways; thought processes change over time as one’s experiences mold who they are. Broadcast’s story is difficult and upsetting, but their music has also spread joy and served as an inspiration for many. Broadcast has changed my life in several ways— I feel more motivated to make music and pay attention to how my lyrics connect with the surroundings and world around me, not purely based on personal experiences. I am thankful for Broadcast, who will leave a permanent legacy, both as musicians and as people.