The Noise Made by People is the debut studio album by English band Broadcast. 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
Pitchfork critic Claire Lobenfeld described the style of The Noise Made by People as a homage to 1960s psychedelic pop; meanwhile, Carlene Bauer of Salon characterised it as "electronic, but not shot full of skittering beats", noting Broadcast's approach of fusing "synthesized sounds and live instrumentation". Writing for The Washington Post, 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. and "Echo's Answer" at number 178 on its list of the best tracks of the 1990s.
Legacy
In 2014, Vices 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 in the future. 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."