Review Summary: A Sonic Struggle With Depression
It had been 3 years since Broadcast released their debut album, The Noise Made By People, a fairly straightforward, but still compelling, homage to 60s psych pop. Their sound had been fairly consistent up until this point, but with the release of HaHa Sound, they would begin their journey into a completely unique brand of pop.
“Colour Me In” starts the album with noises that I can only describe as abrasive and distorted floorboard creaking paired with the sounds of pipes bursting. Soon enough, they are contrasted with Trish Keenan’s style of soft vocal melodies, giving this oddly fitting contrast that would become present throughout the entirety of the album. The best way to describe this clashing of sounds is almost as if it’s a struggle between depression and happiness, a theme that I intend to explore heavily here.
An example of this idea are the tracks “Black Umbrellas” and “Ominous Cloud”. The former is one of the album’s interlude tracks, but, despite its brief nature, it serves as an idea into the theme of this album. It begins with the album’s trademark distorted electronics, paired with a simple drum beat. Within a 1 minute runtime, it exponentially increases speed, giving the listener a sense of building anxiety. But, as soon as it started, it abruptly ends, transitioning into the latter song. “Ominous Cloud” is a lot more direct in its message, giving credence to the idea of a battle with depression in the album. It begins with distorted electronic buzzing before transitioning into one of the album’s most beautiful instrumentals. In it, Keenan sings about wanting to get away from her life and the “ominous cloud” that occupies it, which is, of course, symbolic of depression. About half way through the song, the distorted buzzing comes back in once again, almost as if to remind the listener that the song is idealistic, and the “ominous cloud” that occupies her life is still there.
These ideas can be found on many other points of the album, but the reason I chose to point out “Ominous Cloud” specifically is because it serves as a transitional point into the more lonely and longing half of the album, whereas the first half had more of a sense of joy and wonder. This can easily be seen by the end of the album compared to the beginning. Though the start of the album had a few moments of downtempo-ness, it generally pushed for a more upbeat and joyous feeling, examples of which being “Before We Begin” and “Pendulum”. But by the end, we are given “Winter Now” and “Hawk”. “Winter Now” is possibly one of the most gorgeous songs Broadcast have made, but simultaneously, one of the saddest as well. It has this overwhelming sense of longing and loneliness, almost feeling as though Keenan has accepted some sort of loss, possibly a death or a breakup, and is attempting to cope with it. “Hawk” then proceeds, ending the album. This song stands out from all others here, as the entirety is engulfed in an almost black-metal-esque guitar. If “Winter Now” is about coping with a sort of loss or unrequited love, “Hawk” is the messy turnout of said coping, spiraling into the depression that the album seemed to be trying to fight against this whole time. It also contains a sense of acceptance, coming to terms with the fact that things won’t change, and now all that’s left to do is pick up the pieces and try to move on.
“HaHa Sound” might be one of my favorite albums of all time. I’m resisting to rate it a 5 as I know I am extremely biased towards it, especially considering it came into my life at a fitting time. I have battled with depression for years, and when it finally came to leave the house and move on to college, it felt like my life was spiraling out of control. Just in that time alone, I was struggling with my sexuality and self-hatred, struggling to come to terms with the reality that I might be autistic, as well as attempting to live on my own while trying to manage my ADHD. So much was piling on at once, and when I heard this album, it was almost as if I saw my emotions laid plain in front of me. It connected with me in a way that art rarely had before, and, in a weird way, it felt comforting.
Obviously, this album will be a different listening experience to all that listen to it, especially due to its jarring sound, but one thing to understand is that this album is telling a story. What the story means for you, and how you connect with it, is entirely up to your own interpretation. But one thing is for sure, Trish had a talent for powerful and poetic writing, so I can only hope that the same impact it had for me, it can have for you too.
RIP Trish Keenan.
