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BroadcastTender Buttons Warp/Inertia Since last year's 'HAHA Sound' Broadcast have gone from a four piece to a duo. James Cargill and Trish Keenan, the last two standing, have created an entirely electronic affair on their fourth album, and with most of the songs clocking in under three minutes, it's a short, sweet, and surprisingly inviting record. Defiantly, the warm atmospherics of 'Tender Buttons' come from a chaotic jumble of sound. Distorted spikes of synthesizer repeat and stutter as small, trashy drum loops keep it all in time. Fuzzy keyboards fade in and out erratically and are layered for a discordant effect. Technically, the end result should be an alienating crunching of cogs. Instead, it's a beautiful mess: somehow, Cargill and Keenan have managed to draw out a warmth and a calmness from inside the machines. Many of the songs, however, have a similar tempo. They maintain a steady pace, and never really take off or peak, although this lack of variety fails to hold some songs back from being really great. Keenan's detached vocals are alluring, delivering lyrics with a genuine depth and intelligence. The gloomy but danceable Michael Agrammar is as upbeat as 'Tender Buttons' gets, while the eerie soundscape of Black Cat accurately compliments the feeling of the central line, "Awkwardness happening to someone you love." Although an often-monotonous collection of songs, 'Tender Buttons' is a smart record, made with purpose.  |
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