Broadcast – demos

To mark what should have been Broadcast singer Trish Keenan’s 46th birthday this past Sunday, surviving band member James Cargill posted to Soundcloud two 2004 demos the pair made for songs that ended up on their third album, Tender Buttons.

If you’re a Broadcast fanatic like me, you already know that unreleased material, especially from the group’s song-based era, is rare. These demos sound fairly close to the fully-realized arrangements that ended up on the album, but the performances and recording quality are different enough to give them their own otherworldly character.

I’d love to see a compilation of demos, radio sessions, and/or otherwise-unreleased tracks from Broadcast. There are very few groups from the last fifteen or so years with a recorded output that matches the quality of Broadcast’s. The blend of Keenan’s pure voice, the squelchy and ancient-sounding electronics and effects, a serious crate-digger’s taste for obscure psychedelia and soundtracks, and top-rate songwriting make their records sound truly timeless and special.