Written
March 9, 2023

How a 67’ Psych-Rock Band Informed The Electronic Band of The 90s.

We’ve learned throughout history that music, fashion, and visual arts are all intertwined. A radical innovation of psychedelic music followed the futuristic and experimental fashions of the 1960s – this era’s “psych-rock” bands expanded on the concept of what rock could and should be. Furthermore, the new technology of the 1960s enabled them to not only produce music at a higher level, but also to access a wider range of sounds and experimentation. Musicians were experimenting with music distortion and layering multiple tracks over each other more than ever before.

Broadcast, formed in 1995 by Patricia Anne Keenan (better known as Trish Keenan) and bassist James Cargill, explores the world of electronic music through the eyes of a late 60’s psychedelic band. The two met at a 1960s revival club in Birmingham, foreshadowing the music genre they would soon explore. Listening to their music you’ll be propelled into a world of sound layering, strange poetry, and eerie lyricism. Many of these elements come from what Keenan referred to as their Bible: an early psychedelic band’s self titled album The United States of America. 

I was first introduced to Broadcast through Ryan Smith, owner of Paradise City Records, who suggested I listen to The United States of America’s eponymous album after Broadcast’s Tender Buttons. He showed me the undeniable influence the 1960s psych-rock band had on this newer pop duo. Broadcast’s music, specifically Tender Buttons, has an almost space-agey sound that goes beyond what “futuristic music” has sounded like. Their music explores what most late 60’s psychedelic bands, such as Fifty Foot Hose or Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies, expected music to sound like in the future. 

When discussing the introduction of electronic devices into the music world, the United States of America is frequently mentioned. Unlike almost every other up-and-coming rock band at the time, the United States of America chose not to use a guitar in most of their songs, instead relying on keyboards and modern synthesizers to create the sound. Their song “I Wouldn’t Leave My Wooden Wife for You, Sugar (Alternate Version), is a great example of this. 

Both artists use a drowned-out effect with their vocals, which pushes the listener further and further into the dreamland that their music creates. Keenen was once quoted talking about a vocal track she recorded with a box over her head, “[the box gave it] a closeness and deadness that makes it sit in the mix a bit nicer.” This intimacy is part of what makes Broadcast’s music so mesmerizing.

Despite each band being from a significantly different time, they are both known best for their experimental sound and the exploration they initiated with their music. Broadcast effortlessly blends the unconventional, psychedelic sound of The United States of America with the modernity of electronic music, making it not a regurgitation of 60s psych rock – but a cultural phenomenon.

[cover shot by Chloe Flaherty]

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