Broadcast

Rock/pop

Dropping the Eurotrash cool for a musique concréte feel, Broadcast’s Haha Sound (Warp) is a dissonant sequel to the effortless The Noise Made by People. At first it seems like the band has taken a step backwards; as a pre-release single, "Pendulum" sounded like a shambling Krautrock pastiche next to the dreamy echoes of "Unchanging Window." But the album reveals a coherent, seductive overall vibe, if not many self-contained highs. More than laughter, the title seems to refer to pre-linguistic babbling, what with frequent lyrical and sonic references to early childhood, not to mention the amniotic wash of sound that often substitutes for a fade-out. Perhaps, in a metaphorical sense, that does make the album a step back, but the return to the womb is followed by an instant rebirth.

Wed., Nov. 19, 8 p.m., $10, all ages, with Manitoba and A Hawk and A Handsaw, First Unitarian Church, 22nd and Chestnut sts., 800-594-TIXX.

—Sam Adams

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