The band is Broadcast Radio. Their first album was self-titled and released in April 2006. They spent the majority of 2006 and quite a bit of 2007 touring Canada, parts of the United States and the U.K. After that, the band took a short break before going back into a creative writing process in the fall of 2007. Prior to even their first rehearsal, the band's desire to try on a new direction became pretty obvious; inspired and challenged by a lot of the music that was happening around them at the time.
Months went by and ideas took form. In April 2008, Broadcast Radio checked themselves into Montreal's Hotel 2 Tango – it’s actually not really a hotel, but a recording studio- where they began work on their new record with Engineer Howard Bilerman. The following weeks were then documented on the Hotel's trademark 24-track analog tape machine by Howard and fellow engineer Kevin Komoda. Special guests on the album included Merrill Garbus (Sister Suvi & Tune-Yards), Kristina Koropecki (Mark Berube and The Patriotic Few) and the Mile-End Tabernacle Choir (featuring members of Darling Demaes, Belleisle, The Coloured Lights, Polar Eyes, James Finnerty and more indispensable voices...)
Released in August 2008, Broadcast Radio's new album "Hallways of the Twenty-First Floor" shows a side of the band we haven't seen so far... it really is a whole different thing...
Broadcast Radio is a band from Montreal that formed in 2006. They are composed of Nick Backovic (vocals/guitar), Nino Menard (guitar), Luca Fantigrossi (bass) and Wolf Hackel (drums).
"A cleverly executed indie set [...]this new album well encapsulates the Montreal indie rock sound: orchestral arrangements, sweeping anthems and imploring vocals. Not to say that this album is just like the rest, instead Twenty-First Floor... takes the local norm to another level, offering listeners more rock than indie with head-bopping beats and a rough-and-ready delivery." -NIGHTLIFE MAGAZINE
"The new album, Hallways of the Twenty-First Floor (their sophomore release, coming hard on the heels of their 2006, self-titled debut), fits somewhere into the indie rock genre, whatever that is, but what impresses is not the bells and whistles but the nuts and bolts, which are real solid. Keeping the descriptors vague, I'll add that Backovic has a great voice."
- THE HOUR
"A sonic masterpiece."
- THE OTTAWA CITIZEN
"I think of many metaphors, but none will suffice. Many parallels will be drawn in the shape of Montréal bands, but listen to that voice, listen to those jangly guitar hooks – this band is all their own. A pop-orchestra stripped to the bare necessities. Finally, a sincere rock-and-roll project, and something that should be broadcast on the radio."
- POP MONTREAL
"Broadcast Radio favour driving beats, grandiose choral backups and, courtesy of singer Nick Backovic, vocals whose throat-shredding delivery matches their emotional intensity [...] and complemented by Bilerman’s always epic production. "
- THE MIRROR
"Heads-up, this one's another Howard Bilerman-produced straight-from-Montreal-to-Polaris-jurors-hearts number." - CHARTAttack
"Montreal's Triumphant Indie Rock Heroes" - BBC MANCHESTER
"an expansive song cycle that with its grand orchestral-style arrangements is anything but a straight-ahead rock record(...)recalling another era in the city's rich musical past -- echoing vintage Leonard Cohen, complete with a suitably dark theme. " -OTTAWA SUN
" la formation montréalaise Broadcast Radio se doit de captiver l’oreille autant que les yeux. Heureusement, la troupe de Nick Backovic y parvient grâce à ses chansons mélodiques finement construites, ses arrangements intéressants et la voix particulière de son chanteur. " - BANG BANG
"L’album offre un son rock mélodique, dans la veine des groupes britanniques très accrocheurs, sans toutefois être excessivement pop. Les arrangements musicaux, effectués avec brio, sont tout à fait en harmonie avec la voix et les textes émotionnels de Backovic [...]. On remarque que le groupe a bien travaillé pour nous produire un album de qualité. Les pièces sont originales, diversifiées et sont accompagnées de paroles pertinentes " - PUNKMEUP.COM
"get ready for some major head-nodding, an indie-rock flurry, that's high-energy with that soaring dynamic. Onwards and upwards for the band." -LONELY VAGABOND
"La transposition scénique de l’album est réussie. Broadcast Radio a livré plus d’une heure de show rock parfaitement maitrisé avec des chansons qui sonnent comme des évidences (je vous mets au défi de ne pas reprendre en chœur le refrain de « The Harbour »)."
- noctambules.tv
Hallways Of The Twenty-First Floor - 2008
01. Beneath Me Lies No Shadow 02. Trip, Fall 03. My Last Chance 04. The Drifter 05. Howling at the Moon 06. The Black Cars Are Coming 07. Healing Words 08. The Harbour 09. A Plan to Escape 10. Don't Look Back 11. I Grew Up on an Island
That was a great set at Rancho Relaxo. Finely crafted songs combining chiming guitars, virtuosic intensity, and melodic vocals. A rock dynamic that dabbles in glittery post-punk rhythms and epic anthems. High energy and well executed. Solid band.
Really enjoyed playing with guys last night. You guys brought such a great energy to the show. Hopefully we can team up again some time in the future. All the best, safe journey home to MTL
Hey all, finally got a chance to check you guys out just now, and now I am very excited to share the stage with you Friday night. Safe journey to Toronto...