''The Noise Made by People'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by English

indie electronic Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

band

Broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

. It was released on 20 March 2000 by Warp. The band recorded and produced the album themselves after being dissatisfied with the results of earlier recording sessions helmed by external engineers. Two singles were released from ''The Noise Made by People''; "Echo's Answer" on 1 November 1999 and "Come On Let's Go" on 22 May 2000.

Composition

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'' critic Claire Lobenfeld described the style of ''The Noise Made by People'' as a homage of 1960s

psychedelic pop Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is a genre of pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the mid-to-late 1960s, elements included " trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, ...

; meanwhile, Carlene Bauer of ''

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'' characterised it as " electronic, but not shot full of skittering beats", noting Broadcast's approach of fusing "synthesized sounds and live instrumentation". Writing for ''

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'', Mark Jenkins said that the album "combines dub atmospherics, sample-driven audio collage and Trish Keenan's icy vocals in the manner of Portishead."

Critical reception

''The Noise Made by People'' received critical acclaim. Awarding it a full score of five stars,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Heather Phares called the album "shimmering, weightless pop" that "delivers roadcasts sound in widescreen, filmic grandeur." ''

''s Dan Gardopée applauded it as "positively vibrant and alive." ''Pitchfork'' placed ''The Noise Made by People'' at number 177 on its list of the best albums of the 2000s, and "Echo's Answer" at number 178 on its list of the best tracks of the 1990s.

Legacy

In 2014, ''

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''s Billy Black hailed ''The Noise Made by People'' as Warp's most representative release. Lauding its "untouchable otherness", Black wrote that it helped pave paths for accessible

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

in the future. ''

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''s Nate Patrin wrote an essay on the album in response to its 20th anniversary, crediting it with introducing a "more sophisticated, less caricatured"

psychedelia Psychedelia usually refers to a Aesthetics, style or aesthetic that is resembled in the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience produced by certain psychoactive substances. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic ...

style to the new millennium. Mark Lager, in a retrospective review commemorating the album's 20th anniversary, described the "cinematic" instrumentation as similar to "the crystalline elegance of film scores (especially the swinging basslines and jazzy percussion of the ’60s)" and praised Trish Keenan's lyrics and vocals, describing them as "hypnotic and inviting while still mysterious and melancholy."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. * Broadcast –

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, mixing,

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

* Stephen Francis – mixing (tracks 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12) * Paul Glave – engineering (tracks 8, 10, 12) *

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

– artwork, photography * Kenny Patterson – engineering (track 11) * Steve Perkins – drums (tracks 8, 11, 12) * Keith York – drums (tracks 2–4, 6, 7, 9)

Charts

Release history

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Noise Made by People, The 2000 debut albums Broadcast (band) albums Warp Records albums Tommy Boy Records albums