“Tender Buttons” was new terrain for Birmingham band Broadcast. The group had been known for taking the lithe psych-pop of the ’60s and smearing it with feedback, muscular percussion, and crunchy synths on their landmark albums The Noise Made by People and Haha Sound. But in 2005, the group shaved down to a duo, comprising only of frontwoman Trish Keenan and bassist James Cargill. As a duo, Keenan and Cargill translated their signature thorniness into something captivating.
I’ve been listening to this album a lot. It always seems to get referenced, It’s just a very easy album to like. I wouldn’t call it life changing, but I’d give it a solid rating on the “No one understands my haunted, fragmented beauty” playlist. Allow me to first say that I have a soft spot for girls who sing over lo-fi indie arrangements, and Broadcast up this ante by throwing in blips and fuzz, psyche and shoegazer . “Tender Buttons” is defined by simple arrangements, airy female vocals, and rudimentary song-writing. But it’s exactly that seemingly fumbling, faux-artless delivery that lingers. The closest group I can liken them to is either Department of Eagles or Young Marble Giants, but there’s also the pop sheen of the Zombies and the Let’s Stay In Bed Forever quality of My Bloody Valentine. Tracks like “I Found The F, Black Cat, Tender Buttons, America’s Boy” and “Goodbye Girls” may entice you, and I’m calling “Tears In The Typing Pool” as my favourite, but the album really stands on its cohesiveness, which requires a beginning-to-end listening. Just an understated gem.
- official reissue of Broadcast’s third studio album
- originally released in 2005
This is the music video for the title track of Broadcast’s 2005 album, “Tender Buttons”. It was originally a short film entitled “Horse Territory”.
