In 1914 Gertrude Stein published a book of experimental poetry using automatic writing, repetition and musical language, attempting to subvert language and force readers to see the world in its truest state, depleted of layers of conventional language that create a subjective point of view. The book was called Tender Buttons .

Presumably this, Broadcast's third album of the same name, is a musical attempt to do something similar. Frontwoman Trish Keenan says of this album that "the lyrics...were generated through automatic writing. They are my free falling thoughts."

Beyond the poetry the music has several leitmotifs running through the album. The floaty female vocals, uninflected but soaring above the layers of dirty noise and strong dance beats, are reminiscent at different points of Strereolab and Ladytron, and there are also several echoes of The Velvet Underground & Nico .

What makes this album particularly evocative and potentially avant garde are the noises, whirring and fizzing through the album, from the BBC Radiophonic workshop. Occasionally you feel like the tardis is landing, but mostly the scratchy noises add a grainy, muddy sound.

There are some indulgent instrumental interludes which are largely unnecessary, made up for with the two strongest tracks, Arc Of A Journey, opening with what sound like electronic noises made by an early Texas Instruments console trampled underfoot, and Goodbye Girls, written with warmth and affection about prostitutes. Both songs build up patient layers of noise, guitar and back beat, around the centrifugal force of the vocals. Lovely stuff.

Ultimately the album's origins through automatic writing and unconscious direction are useful tools in the creative process, but don't improve the listener's experience. The album is strong enough to exist without its origins. Tender Buttons works better as an end in itself, not as the means to it. 


Kate Peak