NOTE: This review was originally published on 2/23/14 at KOVL's Facebook page
Folk-rock has been making some waves the last few years,
thanks in part to Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers. Artists with a similar
musical style can quickly gain labels of “copycat”, “derivative”, and
“following a fad.” That phenomenon has been going on for decades, in all genres.
It’s played out, and unimaginative, ironically kept alive by unimaginative
people who would rather just criticize than expand their musical horizons. Just
because a band may sound similar to another group that’s gained more
popularity, or paved the way within a genre, doesn’t mean they have nothing
worthwhile to offer.
This brings me to the UK’s The Broken Broadcast. Together
since 2009, they’re easily identifiable as a folk-rock sound. And maybe nothing
off 2013’s “How Not To Cut A Buffalo” is instantly as catchy as “I Will Wait”
or “Ho Hey”. But if you like the aforementioned groups or songs, this is music
you’d enjoy listening to. Just the album title should be enough to gain a
cursory listening. Once into the album, it’s obvious that James Riggall
has a smoother voice than Marcus Mumford. Raspy voices absolutely work in
music, but vocal tones that aren’t rough around the edges are always
appreciated. The songs themselves are a mix of mid-tempo and slower songs that
you tend to see in this field, kicked off in earnest by “This Is My
Wilderness”, driven by a steady bass drum beat that never threatens to get “in
your face” and overwhelm the rest of the instruments, or the vocals.
That speaks well of the production and mixing, which is solid
throughout. Very few tricks are utilized, and the band sounds better for it. An
echo effect on the vocals of “We’re Just Waiting For Our Friends” is the most
prominent example, and it doesn’t seem out of place. Even though there are the
traditional breaks between songs, sometimes the breaks are so quick and smooth
that you aren’t entirely sure you’re hearing two separate songs. “Interlude And
Hope” into “Le Loup” is the most notable of those. “Interlude”, in fact, seems
like a song in progress. It clocks in at 1:53 and is an instrumental, and it’s
very pleasant for the time it lasts. But it also gives a sense that it’s
begging to be expanded, that there’s a longer song beneath the surface. Maybe
in The Broken Broadcast’s live shows, it gets drawn out into something longer,
allowing all the players a greater opportunity to shine. But the released
version feels like an introduction to “Le Loup”, and “Interlude” could be
shortchanged because of it.
In part, “Interlude” also speaks to the biggest issue I have
with the album. The entire album is roughly 38 minutes long. A sub-two-minute
instrumental, on its own, has a place in even that short a time span. The
opening cut, “A Prelude, An Introduction” is harmless at only 29 seconds, with
the feel of two trumpeters warming up over xylophone chords. And the final 2:20
of the closing track, “Everything That’s Mine Is Yours” is the sound of light
waves washing up on a beach. The effect, in isolation, is fine. People use the
sound, or something similar, to help themselves fall asleep. It does bring
visions of the beach and warm weather, and those visions are quite welcome
during a Minnesota winter. But combine all three of them and of the 38-minute
runtime, close to 5 of those minutes are spent on moments that seem to lack
purpose or, as previously stated about “Interlude”, feel incomplete. That’s not
an insignificant amount.
But it doesn’t overshadow all the good about the album. Very
few albums are perfect, after all. The musicians are obviously talented, and
they subscribe to a lo-fi sound, as I’ve seen it written elsewhere, which
doesn’t assault your senses with unnecessary filler sounds. It’s easy to see
how they gained underground traction in their native country, going back to
2010, within their first year as a band. The music may not push you through a
challenging workout or a difficult run, but it’s not meant to. It’s relaxing,
soothing, pleasant, and a worthy alternative to the mainstream bands of the
genre.
Final rating: 3.8 out of 5 (revised from 3.5 on 3/8/14 after
deciding to use increments of .1 instead of .5)
Download “How Not To Cut A Buffalo” from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/how-not-to-cut-a-buffalo/id675065204
Download “How Not To Cut A Buffalo” from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/How-Not-Buffalo-Broken-Broadcast/dp/B00E3LA51Q/ref=sr_1_2?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1393187659&sr=1-2&keywords=the+broken+broadcast
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