Pitchfork: New Broadcast Album and Tour!

It's been a stormy two years since Broadcast last, um, broadcast, but September 20 (a day earlier outside the U.S.) will see the band's next step in their quest for the perfect vibe when they release the new album Tender Buttons. The album's named after a Gertrude Stein book, whose influence on Broadcast apparently doesn't end there; the song title "Michael A Grammar" is presumably a reference to another Stein piece called "Arthur A Grammar", though we'll take a pass on guessing what all this means.

As is often the case with Broadcast, the recording process between albums was unorthodox. Past albums have been plagued by departing band members and producers; this time, the band have been reduced to two members, singer Trish Keenan and partner James Cargill. It seems that the band's line-up isn't the only thing that has been pared down-- according to Warp Records, the arrangements are decidedly more minimal, and the live Broadcast drum sound has been replaced by soft and sparse electronic drum beats. Warp will precede the album with a 7" single on August 8 which will couple two album tracks, "America's Boy" and "Tender Buttons". Tracklist:

01 I Found the F
02 Black Cat
03 Tender Buttons
04 America's Boy
05 Tears in the Typing Pool
06 Corporeal
07 Bit 35
08 Arc of a Journey
09 Michael A Grammar
10 Subject to the Ladder
11 Evil Is Coming
12 Goodbye Girls
13 You and Me in Time
14 I Found the End

The band will embark on a North American tour to coincide with the release of Tender Buttons. Details of support acts on this tour as well as upcoming UK and European tours are due to be announced shortly.

10-27 Costa Mesa, CA - Detroit Bar
10-28 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
10-29 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
10-30 Seattle, WA - Neumos
10-31 Vancouver, British Columbia - The Red Room
11-03 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Club
11-04 Chicago, IL - The Abbey Pub
11-05 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
11-06 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace
11-07 Montr�al, Qu�bec - Cabaret Music Hall
11-08 Boston, MA - Paradise
11-10 New York City, NY - Webster Hall
11-11 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church Sanctuary
11-12 Washington, DC - Black Cat
11-13 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
11-14 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
11-16 Houston, TX - Mary Jane's Fat Cat
11-17 Austin, TX - The Parish
11-18 Denton, TX - Hailey's 11-20 San Diego, CA - The Casbah
11-21 Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour