[rating=7.00]
It’s only natural for a band to take some time before personalizing a stylistic niche for themselves and The Broadcast may have their secured theirs with the aptly-titled From the Horizon. Produced by Grammy-Award winning producer Jim Scott, who’s worked with such polished ensembles as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Wilco, the group’s second full-length album finds them not only inhabiting a space shared by the Tedeschi Trucks Band and the Alabama Shakes, but expanding beyond it.
In working with Scott on From the Horizon (at his request it’s well to note), the Broadcast integrate elements of American into the R&B style of their previous recordings and live shows. For instance, acoustic guitars and layered percussion from Tyler Householder bubble under Krisko’s restrained singing during “Sign It Off,” while Aaron Austin’s guitar picking exhibits precision and intelligence. And during “On the Edge,” the sextet displays an admirable instrumental agility within the rhythm section of Michael W. Davis on drums and Ted Marks on bass, that belies their general tendency to title songs in truisms.
The Broadcast are learning to write and perform with more ingenuity than “Bring It On Home” or “Double Down” would suggest, and whether that’s Scott’s influence or not matters less. The band not only radiates self-assurance for cuts like “Electric Light,” but that the group’s writers, Krisko and Austin, follow through on the theme of the song. Meanwhile, “Every Step” portrays their growing self-awareness in both composition and arrangement, in particular in the economy of the latter with the keyboard accents of John Ginty. “Eyes of A Woman” suggests such a pithy approach to their original material is a mindset definitely worth nurturing (as Jim Scott no doubt did during the sessions). Their music has more impact when the musicianship is condensed rather than expanded.
Austin’s twisting, turning electric solo there is proof positive this specific virtue is starting to come naturally to the band and the sequencing of “Bring It On Home” as the very next track, hearkening as it does to the Broadcast’s soul influences, but rendered with an equal self-discipline, tells the tale of From the Horizon as vividly as any of its eleven tracks.
Jim Scott is nothing less than an expert at capturing the full range of a band’s sound and mixing the various components in such a way all receive their proper due in the mix, a distinction that highlights the Broadcast’s growth as much as their overt change in direction on From the Horizon. Consequently, by the time the title tune is complete, the literal definition of this group’s moniker takes on as much significance as the name of this album.
