Haha Sound

Haha Sound

ASIN: B00009V8WD

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Ha Ha Sound is the perfect follow up to The Noise Made By People (2000 debut). Broadcast's uncanny mix of perfect, pop productions and darker, more sinister offerings make the band impossible to pigeonhole. Features 14 tracks. Warp. 2003.

Tracks:

Colour Me In
Pendulum
Before We Begin
Valerie
Man Is Not A Bird
Minim
Lunch Hour Pops
Black Umbrellas
Ominous Cloud
DistORSION
Oh How I Miss You
The Little Bell
Winter Now
Hawk

Album Description

Ha Ha Sound is the perfect follow up to The Noise Made By People (2000 debut). Broadcast's uncanny mix of perfect, pop productions and darker, more sinister offerings make the band impossible to pigeonhole. Features 14 tracks. Warp. 2003.

Album Details

Broadcast Return from the Depths of their Birmingham Studio Three Years after the Release of their First Full Length "The Noise Made by People". An Album that was Critically Acclaimed and Went on to Sell 50,000 Copies Worldwide and Confirmed Broadcast as a Major Cult Band who have a Massive Potential to Cross Over to a Wider Audience. "Haha Sound" is a Stunning, Beautiful Album Mixing Broadcast's Pop Sensibilities, Through Iconic Singer Trish Keenan's Unforgettable Vocals with Unique Production and Idiosyncratic Instrumentation.

Customer Reviews:

Disorderly conduct.......2007-01-19

It's a bit tricky to be a musician today, for many reasons. In particular, the endless directions and methods available to composers, something artists of the 20th century fought tooth and nail to provide, can prove paralytical when you're approaching a "blank canvas". Throw the ready availability of computers into the mix and it's overwhelming. Just how the hell does one limit his possibilities and actually complete a piece of music?

Broadcast had a novel idea: use it all.

HaHa Sound is a good example what a talented band can do in an era of infinite possibilities. Truly, the album's diversity knows very few limits and reads like a musical history lesson. Psychedelia, classic electroacoustics, rock, folk and even Bach-like fugues fight for the spotlight, yet never get in each other's way. "Colour Me In" begins with a (pre-drug addled) Marianne Faithfull tune, seemingly infected by broken machines: almost-identifiable samples (I think there's a bike falling off the porch in there) explode, bubble and mesh with buzzing 8-bit string sounds, harpsichord/carousel melodies and Trish Keenan's straight-out-of-a-time-machine, Euro-hippie-chic vocals. "Pendulum" shifts gears with steady lo-fi drums, organ licks and Venusian guitars; it shoegazes and glides like the greatest My Bloody Valentine B-side ever. "Before We Begin" conjures images of a kitsch-stuffed video -- all cheesy star-wipes, spinning lights and hippie slogans painted across go-go dancers' midsections.

Broadcast have done some serious research, evident in their impeccable explorations, but their true genius is their ability to work with structured and not-so-structured ideas and make them feel natural. Most of the songs on HaHa Sound begin with a clear melody (usually held down in the vocals) and some other steady pattern (drums, synth blobs). These are pitched against complete dissonance created by guitars, laptops and microtonal synths -- I can't imagine how Keenan keeps her pitch when she's playing live. It's as if two bands collided onstage, but somehow fused their polar opposite personalities to make something organic, even if that cohesion sometimes hangs by a thread ("Distorsion", "Hawk").

Broadcast evidently have no qualms about living in ambiguity, using whatever tools are available and turning chaos into catchy cohesion. As a result, HaHa Sound is a disorderly delight.

Broadcast's lovely "sound.......2004-06-28

A gently dischordant opener kicks off the entrancing, quirky "Colour Me In." Following it up is the slightly staticky rockers like "Pendulum" and the vaguely spooky "Man is Not A Bird," sparkly pop like "Lunch Hour Pops" and "Ominous Cloud," and offbeat ballads like "Before We Begin" and the ethereal "Valerie." Not to mention stately soundscapes like the shimmering "Minim" and experimental spazzing in "Distorsion."

You don't really expect rock to be pretty, or pop to explore new musical ground. But Broadcast manages both at the same time. They effortlessly switch from mellow to childlike to jaded. And their music is a neo-60s tangle that sorts itself out into simple, jangly melodies.

Trish Keenan's voice is well suited to the dreamy music; she has that sort of high, sweet voice that is often associated with schoolgirls. But in some songs like "Little Bell," her voice dips down and becomes much throatier. Okay, you can't really understand what she's saying, but if you dig down to the lyrics, you'll get some evocative, wintry songs with lots of references to sleep, snow, ice and cold. At times the lyrics can border on sappy ("You are the only one/To keep me sane when all is wrong") but it never quite crosses that border.

Psychedelic guitar riffs are the core of Broadcast's sound in this CD. But not the only part of the sound: There's quite a bit of distortion and fuzziness in some of the rock songs, augmented by some subtle work on the drums -- particularly the eerie, drippy solo at the end of "Man Is Not A Bird." Adding to the atmosphere are the cymbals, and adding a more delicate note is the triangle.

The retro-60s sound of Broadcast is polished further in "Haha Sound," a pretty collection of musically adventurous pop-rock. Highly recommended.

the noise made by people 2.......2004-05-08

FOLLOWING NMBP- HA HA SOUND IS ANOTHER VERY GOOD RECORD THAT SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS RECORDED 30 YEARS AGO WITH MODERN RECORDING GEAR. THERES A REAL CREATIVE SPARK HERE AND SOUND THAT IS FUN AND SPOOKY AT THE SAME TIME. ULTIMATELY BROADCAST ARE THE CURRENT COOLEST AND MOST EFFECTIVE BAND AT MIXING ODD ELECTRONIC SOUND EFFECTS- WITH NEO PYSCHEDELIC POP ROCK AND THE FLOATY SWEET FEMALE VOCAL. THERES A COUPLE OF TRACKS THAT JUST GO NOWHERE FAST BUT OVERALL ITS JUST AS SOLID AS THEIR DEBUT- IF ONLY SLIGHTLY INFERIOR TO THAT RECORD. ***OF NOTE TO FANS SHOULD BE THE UNCANNY RESEMBLANCE TO THE RARE AMERICAN ELECTRONIC/ PYSCHEDELIC ROCK BAND UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WHO RELEASED ONE SOLE RECORD IN 1968( CD IS HARD TO FIND AND PRICEY CAN BE FOUND ON AMAZON AND EBAY- ATLEAST FOUR TRACKS OFF THIS EXCELLENT RARE SIXTIES PYSCH CLASSIC SOUND EXACTLY LIKE BROADCAST- ONE OF THE FIRST BANDS TO USE A RARE MODULATOR SYNTHEZIER AND SOUND EFFECTS- AN AMAZING RECORD THAT ANY FAN OF BROADCAST-STEREOLAB IS ESSENTIAL!

Mo Pop.......2004-04-21

I first heard Broadcast a few years ago. I heard one of their EPs and was disappointed. I had high hopes because other people mentioned them to me often. But recently I saw them play this year and heard this new full album. I was excited by it. It seems like everything you would want in a record: psychedelic, dreamy, and rhythmic... You often hear John Barry and Morricione mentioned when people talk about Broadcast. I think that Broadcast takes soundtrack music to a more interesting and darker place. "Pendulum" is a great song and it's great that they include it on this album. Where other bands like them have either went electro or loss their focus or even quit altogether, it's wonderful that Broadcast has come out this year seeming like one of the freshest, most original bands of the year. Songs like "Before We Begin" and "Valerie" show off their more subtle and mellow side. You then remember that they are on Warp Records and not some independent French label. The album length allows them to explore sound and use noise. They do this as well as more regular songs. It's important in music today to be original and not just rehash your record collection. Broadcast are definitely one of those special groups that have a distinct sound that looks forward and backwards, and celebrates everything great in music about right now. History is bunk. Hopefully more people will stop following trends and worrying about what is cool, and just listen to bands like Broadcast. Who cares about your haircut?

Captivating!.......2004-03-30

Broadcast is one of the few current bands that I give two nickels about, and this disc proves that they continue to evolve and grow. I remember being a poor teen who could only afford (or convince his parents to purchase) one or two 'tapes' a month. Of course, I listened-the-heck out of those tapes, which is something I do less often now, seeing how I have more CDs and less time to listen to them (if only I could make the $ without working). Upon buying Haha Sound, though, I listened-the-heck out of it for five days straight - this disc reeled me in, and I was forced to explore what was going on. Come on!! You can't even tell what instrument is being played half the time, or how it's being played. Some moments on this disc are the poppiest Broadcast moments ever (pop='emotionally affecting', not 'sell-out'), yet others push the rollercoaster of weirdness to greater heights. Broadcast, like every great band, has influences and roots in the past, yet they continue to push forward and create music that couldn't have existed at any other time. This is what, years from now, will put Broadcast heads and shoulders above the legions of revivalists and imitators littering the scene right now. With this album, Broadcast continues to move ahead, while taking rock and pop with them.

Average customer rating:

Broadcast "Sound"

Haha Sound
Broadcast
Manufacturer: Warp Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Dream Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Ambient Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Electronic Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00009V8X2
Release Date: 2003-08-12

Tracks:

Colour Me In
Pendulum
Before We Begin
Valerie
Man Is Not a Bird
Minim
Lunch Hour Pops
Black Umbrellas
Ominous Cloud
Distorsion
Oh How I Miss You
Little Bell
Winter Now
Hawk

Customer Reviews:

Broadcast "Sound".......2005-01-05

What is Broadcast? Broadcast is dreamy, swirly indie-pop-rock that manages to be experimental and familiar all at once, with hints of jazz, trip-hop, and general melodic confusion. Does the British band's third release, "Haha Sound," pull itself together into a good album? In a word, yes.

A gently dischordant opener kicks off the entrancing, quirky "Colour Me In." Following it up is the slightly staticky rockers like "Pendulum" and the vaguely spooky "Man is Not A Bird," sparkly pop like "Lunch Hour Pops" and "Ominous Cloud," and offbeat ballads like "Before We Begin" and the ethereal "Valerie." Not to mention stately soundscapes like the shimmering "Minim" and experimental spazzing in "Distorsion."

You don't really expect rock to be pretty, or pop to explore new musical ground. But Broadcast manages both at the same time. They effortlessly switch from mellow to childlike to jaded. And their music is a neo-60s tangle that sorts itself out into simple, jangly melodies.

Trish Keenan's voice is well suited to the dreamy music; she has that sort of high, sweet voice that is often associated with schoolgirls. But in some songs like "Little Bell," her voice dips down and becomes much throatier. Okay, you can't really understand what she's saying, but if you dig down to the lyrics, you'll get some evocative, wintry songs with lots of references to sleep, snow, ice and cold. At times the lyrics can border on sappy ("You are the only one/To keep me sane when all is wrong") but it never quite crosses that border.

Psychedelic guitar riffs are the core of Broadcast's sound in this CD. But not the only part of the sound: There's quite a bit of distortion and fuzziness in some of the rock songs, augmented by some subtle work on the drums -- particularly the eerie, drippy solo at the end of "Man Is Not A Bird." Adding to the atmosphere are the cymbals, and adding a more delicate note is the triangle.

The retro-60s sound of Broadcast is polished further in "Haha Sound," a pretty collection of musically adventurous pop-rock. Highly recommended.