15 essential Broadcast tracks and the records where you can find them

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pendulum

Broadcast
‘Still Feels Like Tears’
(From Pendulum EP, Warp, 2003)

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The arrival of the Pendulum EP in 2003 ushered in a tougher, more ambitious Broadcast, which had managed to sharpen both its pop hooks and its serrated experimental impulses. The catchy title track was a declaration that the band was exploring more hard-edged influences, recalling the oscillating undulations of ’60s electronic pioneers Silver Apples via its thicker waves of electronic frequency and powerful drumming. Roj Stevens’ keyboards and Tim Felton’s guitar work throughout the EP proved to be beefier, messier and more scorched, giving the EP’s songs more detail; their aggressive textures also served as a wonderful foil for Keenan’s melodies, which were vibrantly technicolored compared to their previous monochrome hues.

‘Still Feels Like Tears’ stands out here, with Keenan lamenting the loss of something or someone dear to her via a deceptively childlike metaphor (“Seasons mean nothing / You went away and I’m falling / Even clouds have tried their best / To move and give my tears a rest”). The band motors forward on a metronomic krautrock groove, Felton and Stevens ejecting heavily modulated and distorted splatters of guitar and synth tones across her requiem in place of her tears. The song encapsulates the power of Keenan’s creative worldview, though would sadly come to serve as a bittersweet reflection of many fans’ emotions after her untimely passing.