Broadcast - The Future Crayon

It may be nearing the season of Best Ofs and B-sides, but Broadcast get the jump on your usual Slades and Bobby Browns by releasing this 18 track bonanza. Paradoxically dubbed "retro-futurists" (by Nathan Barley, no doubt) the Birmingham crew probably owe as much to the Mamas & the Papas as they do My Bloody Valentine (there goes that oh so hip reference again). Versatile to the point of almost breaking in Trish Keenan's tender melodic leanings, the palette that 'The Future Crayon' operates on stretches from a distortion riddled haze (Where Youth and Laughter Go, Poem of a Dead Song) to a faint ghoulish whisper over a hi-hat driven jazz tempo (One Hour Empire). Surprisingly cohesive for a rarities collection spanning nigh on a decade, this is well worth a gander, be it for the means of a crash course or as a companion to the rest of their synth dabbling set. [Dave Kerr]