Broken Chanter – This Could be Us, You, or Anybody Else
Broken Chanter's latest album is a moody, thoughtful piece of work that’s sure to delight those who love to boogie on down to sad music
On his fourth album as Broken Chanter, Glaswegian singer-songwriter David MacGregor takes the title and thematic inspiration from Arpita Singh’s striking turquoise-blue etching of the same name, exploring and comparing an idealised world view (depicted by Singh) against the looming shadow of our increasingly dystopian reality. On album opener This Future Is Bright and I Don’t Want It, grumbling bass, punchy drums, and drilling, intertwining guitars (from regular collaborators Charlotte Printer, Martin Johnstone, and Bartholemew Owl) create a mid-tempo post-punk backdrop for MacGregor’s emotive Scottish brogue – a must-listen for fans of Frightened Rabbit.
Across the rest of the record, the collective injects more bubbly, playful and danceable moments into tracks like Shake It To Bits, To The Victims They Call Citizens, and Atrocity/Adverts/Idiocy, while experimenting with odd electronic fills, break beats and lamentful synths on Pizzale Loreto, A Year Without a Summer, and Ghosts of the Gaps. Touching on hypermasculinity, societal moral shifts, and the unstoppable march of progress, This Could be Us, You, or Anybody Else is a moody, thoughtful piece of work that’s sure to delight those who love to boogie on down to sad music.
Listen to: The Future Is Bright and I Don’t Want It, Shake It To Bits, Atrocity/Adverts/Idiocy