Nick Backovic

If you live in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Guelph, London, Calgary, Vancouver or Victoria, you may have seen these posters going up. What the hell?

These are Microsoft tag posters. Scan it and you'll get a free song from Nick Backovic, ex of Montreal band Broadcast Radio. "Rant" will be the first single from his still-untitled album, which is due in January 2013. If you're heading to NXNE in Toronto or Sled Island in Calgary, they'll apparently be tough to miss.

Cool marketing idea, huh? - Alan Cross

Elliott Lemenager
Tuesday, Jul 24, 2012 at 10:19 AM

Nick Backovic, a singer-songwriter from Montreal, Canada, is using Microsoft Tag to build hype around his new album slated to release March 15, 2013. Produced by Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade) Nick has a sound that will tingle your eardrums and is worth taking a few minutes out of your day to listen to.



Since his album isn’t released yet you might be wondering how you can listen to his music? Well, if you look at the center of the poster that he is using to create buzz around his upcoming album you’ll notice a Microsoft Tag in the center of it. When you scan the Tag in the poster it will lead you to a free download for a single off of his new record.



If you live in the following cities, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Ottawa, Guelph, London, Ontario, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria or if you're in the UK, you may have already seen the poster above. I have to say I’ve love this concept! Allowing people to engage with your marketing material to receive exclusive content is always a rewarding experience. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more musicians using this marketing tactic to connect listeners to their music.

If you like his music make sure to reach out to him and let him know on Twitter @nickbackovic. Musicians put a lot of time and effort into their art and giving it away for free is a tough thing to do. My hat is off to you Nick, keep up the great work. - Microsoft Tag

Soon after, to slightly less a sparsity, Broadcast Radio stationed themselves up high, handsomely led by front man Nick Backovic (pictured right). These guys play with the confident ease of a band who does not expend all their energy on simply standing out like a gangrened thumb. I see them in their first jam session making lists of bands who either inspire, or nauseate them, then just saying 'fuck it', light the list on fire, and go with what sounds right and feels fuzzy. There is a certain timelessness if one's conception of time begins in 1992. As an alt-pop-rock outfit, it fits loose around the waist and tight around the shoulders. For sum's sake, I'll say these guys are first and foremost authentic songsters, which means exactly what it sounds like: it is not an act or a show as much as a succession of well-hooked verse to versity. Forthright Huzzahs to them for scoring a gig in ol' Albion (London, England). I am sure they will there be mistaken for home-towners as long as they speak solely through their song.
- Hold My Peace

Montreal indie rockers Broadcast Radio dial it up a notch on new album

In their ascent out of the Montreal indie band box, which is full-to-overflowing, Broadcast Radio seem to have taken an all-important detour: working with producer and engineer Howard Bilerman of Mile End studio Hotel2Tango.
"Howard is at all times an engineer, but a bit more," says frontman Nick Backovic. "He puts himself into the project and he's very good at getting an accurate picture of a band, using analog tape as the witness."

Backovic, along with guitarist Nino Menard, bassist Luca Fantigrossi and drummer Wolf Hackel (a fantastic collection of names, by the way), explained that, as mentioned above, Bilerman's love of the older, warmer technology helped permanently ruin digital recording for them.

"After recording with analog, versus digital, I'm a convert for life. The comparison that comes to mind is photography, where striking and holding a pose for the shot never turns out as well as when someone is focused on something other than the camera."

This conversion to analog also forced the band to change the way they approached the recording process - for the better, it seems.


"It changes the process, because this time we put the songs together a bit more - up to a point - then sort of put that aside and played them in a live setting," says Backovic. "With digital you can go back and endlessly fiddle with all the parts and sometimes you end up losing the song that way."

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 album release will feature a range of guests, including members of Sister Suvi, Darling Arms and the Mile End Tabernacle Choir.

"We just want to try to get the record across to the audience," says Backovic. "We've got most of the guests on the album showing up and we'll obviously [starts laughing] be playing songs from it, but I think we're going to leave it kind of loose and do it a bit on the fly."

Broadcast Radio
CD launch w/ Mark Berube & The Patriotic Few, and DJs Heidy & Trebek
At Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent), Aug. 29

- The Hour

The sweeping orchestral songs of Montreal indie rockers Broadcast Radio will resonate through Zaphod Beeblebrox tomorrow. The band's second disc, Hallways of the Twenty-First Floor, is a sonic masterpiece, led by the soaring vocals of Nick Backovic and produced by Howard Bilerman, formerly of Arcade Fire. The album is impressive, the connections are impeccable: here's a chance to see if they rock. - The Ottawa Citizen

Hallways of the Twenty-First Floor (Independent)
Recorded at the famous Hotel 2 Tango by producer-about-town Howard Bilderman, this stomps the well-trodden trail blazed by indie-anthem purveyors such as Arcade Fire and Plants and Animals. Like those bands, Broadcast Radio favour driving beats, grandiose choral backups and, courtesy of singer Nick Backovic, vocals whose throat-shredding delivery matches their emotional intensity. Though this is certainly not reaching out into any uncharted territory, it’s delivered with conviction and complemented by Bilderman’s always epic production. 7/10 (Malcolm Fraser) With Mark Berube and the Patriotic Few at La Sala Rossa, Fri. Aug. 29, 8:30 p.m. - The Mirror

Avec un aspect visuel aussi intéressant, le deuxième album de 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. La formation, qui a fait paraître un premier album éponyme au printemps 2006, puise son inspiration dans le rock britannique et dans Arcade Fire par exemple avec la ligne de basse, le bass drum et l’accordéon sur The Harbour, probablement la meilleure pièce de l’album ou encore avec les chœurs sur My Last Chance. Enregistré à l’Hotel2Tango, Hallways of the Twenty-First Floor auquel participe notamment le Mile-End Tabernacle Choir est franchement réussi. - BangBang

It has been two years since Montreal-based rock band Broadcast Radio last hit town, on the heels of a self-titled patchwork song-collection.

Now it's time to greet the quartet once again. For the first time.

"That was a collection of songs rather than a focused album," Broadcast Radio frontman Nick Backovic now says of his band's debut. "It was a compilation of songs I'd written over the span of five or six years, and definitely a more straight-ahead rock record."

Backovic's dismissive critique comes in the wake of the release of Hallways of the Twenty-First Floor, an expansive song cycle that with its grand orchestral-style arrangements is anything but a straight-ahead rock record. It is, however, as Backovic confirms, very much a contemporary Montreal record.

"We have been influenced a lot by the Montreal sound going on right now," Backovic says of his band's grand designs. "There are other influences, like a lot of British music, but the thing about Montreal is that so many artists are bringing their creativity here at the moment -- not just in music but in all the arts. And it does rub off on you."




All of which is Backovic's way of explaining the great leap forward that is Hallways. But if today's Montreal lives between the record's grooves, the magnificent acoustic ballad The Drifter recalls another era in the city's rich musical past -- echoing vintage Leonard Cohen, complete with a suitably dark theme. ("These hearts grow cold," Backovic croons, "And this world won't come together.")

"It is dark," Backovic says of Hallways. "I started writing the songs after our first cross-Canada tour, at a time when we weren't always getting along, and getting back home was a shock to the system.

"I've been out of that place for a while. But we're also not in the same place we were two years ago."
- The Ottawa Sun

It has been two years since Montreal-based rock band Broadcast Radio last hit town, on the heels of a self-titled patchwork song-collection.

Now it's time to greet the quartet once again. For the first time.

"That was a collection of songs rather than a focused album," Broadcast Radio frontman Nick Backovic now says of his band's debut. "It was a compilation of songs I'd written over the span of five or six years, and definitely a more straight-ahead rock record."

Backovic's dismissive critique comes in the wake of the release of Hallways of the Twenty-First Floor, an expansive song cycle that with its grand orchestral-style arrangements is anything but a straight-ahead rock record. It is, however, as Backovic confirms, very much a contemporary Montreal record.

"We have been influenced a lot by the Montreal sound going on right now," Backovic says of his band's grand designs. "There are other influences, like a lot of British music, but the thing about Montreal is that so many artists are bringing their creativity here at the moment -- not just in music but in all the arts. And it does rub off on you."




All of which is Backovic's way of explaining the great leap forward that is Hallways. But if today's Montreal lives between the record's grooves, the magnificent acoustic ballad The Drifter recalls another era in the city's rich musical past -- echoing vintage Leonard Cohen, complete with a suitably dark theme. ("These hearts grow cold," Backovic croons, "And this world won't come together.")

"It is dark," Backovic says of Hallways. "I started writing the songs after our first cross-Canada tour, at a time when we weren't always getting along, and getting back home was a shock to the system.

"I've been out of that place for a while. But we're also not in the same place we were two years ago."
- The Ottawa Sun

After a two-year waiting period since their self-titled 2006 debut, Montreal's own foursome is back in the racks with a cleverly executed indie set, ripe with special guests and city-wide collaborators. Recorded at Hotel2Tango by owner Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Basia Bulat, The Dears...), 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. Nice. (NV) 4/5
- Nightlife Magazine

After a two-year waiting period since their self-titled 2006 debut, Montreal's own foursome is back in the racks with a cleverly executed indie set, ripe with special guests and city-wide collaborators. Recorded at Hotel2Tango by owner Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Basia Bulat, The Dears...), 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. Nice. (NV) 4/5
- Nightlife Magazine

BROADCAST RADIO est un des ces groupes de la scène rock indépendante montréalaise qui est en plein effervescence. La formation est née en 2006 et, depuis, a tourné en spectacle non seulement au Canada mais également aux États-Unis et en Angleterre. Le band est constitué de Nick Backovic à la guitare et à la voix, de Nino Menard à la lead guitare, de Luca Fantigrossi à la basse ainsi que de Wolf Hackel à la batterie. Hallways of the Twenty-First Floor démontre une nouvelle tangente pour BROADCAST RADIO, qui a su se démarquer dans ce second album qui décharge onze pièces de pur délice.

Hallways of the Twenty-First Floor a été enregistré au studio Hotel 2 Tango situé à Montréal avec l’aide d’Howard Bilerman, réalisateur connu de la scène locale. On peut notamment mentionner la contribution de de plusieurs invités spéciaux, dont Merrill Garbus (SISTER SUVI et TUNE YARDS, Kristina Koropecki et la MILE-END TABERNACLE CHOIR, lequel comprend des membres de DARLING DEMAES, BELLEISLE, THE COLOURED LIGHTS ainsi que de POLAR EYES. 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. L’album débute avec l’excellente pièce Beneath Me Lies No Shadow et enchaine succès après succès, incluant d’ailleurs la deuxième plage intitulé Trip, Fall qui pourrait faire rappeler un peu le son de AEREOGRAMME sans toutefois être une copie conforme. Par contre, s’il y avait une seule pièce à écouter, The Drifter serait sûrement retenue.

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 imprégnés d’ailleurs d’un certains sentiment d'inconfort : I need a plan to escape. Notons également le livret de l’album qui est très bien réussi, surtout pour un album sorti indépendant. En conclusion, BROADCAST RADIO est un groupe de talent non seulement parce qu’il est d’origine montréalaise, mais surtout parce qu’il maîtrisent l'art de composer des pièces qui sont fortement exportables à l’étranger. - punkmeup.com

BROADCAST RADIO est un des ces groupes de la scène rock indépendante montréalaise qui est en plein effervescence. La formation est née en 2006 et, depuis, a tourné en spectacle non seulement au Canada mais également aux États-Unis et en Angleterre. Le band est constitué de Nick Backovic à la guitare et à la voix, de Nino Menard à la lead guitare, de Luca Fantigrossi à la basse ainsi que de Wolf Hackel à la batterie. Hallways of the Twenty-First Floor démontre une nouvelle tangente pour BROADCAST RADIO, qui a su se démarquer dans ce second album qui décharge onze pièces de pur délice.

Hallways of the Twenty-First Floor a été enregistré au studio Hotel 2 Tango situé à Montréal avec l’aide d’Howard Bilerman, réalisateur connu de la scène locale. On peut notamment mentionner la contribution de de plusieurs invités spéciaux, dont Merrill Garbus (SISTER SUVI et TUNE YARDS, Kristina Koropecki et la MILE-END TABERNACLE CHOIR, lequel comprend des membres de DARLING DEMAES, BELLEISLE, THE COLOURED LIGHTS ainsi que de POLAR EYES. 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. L’album débute avec l’excellente pièce Beneath Me Lies No Shadow et enchaine succès après succès, incluant d’ailleurs la deuxième plage intitulé Trip, Fall qui pourrait faire rappeler un peu le son de AEREOGRAMME sans toutefois être une copie conforme. Par contre, s’il y avait une seule pièce à écouter, The Drifter serait sûrement retenue.

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 imprégnés d’ailleurs d’un certains sentiment d'inconfort : I need a plan to escape. Notons également le livret de l’album qui est très bien réussi, surtout pour un album sorti indépendant. En conclusion, BROADCAST RADIO est un groupe de talent non seulement parce qu’il est d’origine montréalaise, mais surtout parce qu’il maîtrisent l'art de composer des pièces qui sont fortement exportables à l’étranger. - punkmeup.com

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. (CV) - POP Montreal

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. (CV) - POP Montreal

After a two-year waiting period since their self-titled 2006 debut, Montreal's own foursome is back in the racks with a cleverly executed indie set, ripe with special guests and city-wide collaborators. Recorded at Hotel2Tango by owner Howard Bilderman (Arcade Fire, Basia Bulat, The Dears...), 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. Nice. - Nighlife Magazine

After a two-year waiting period since their self-titled 2006 debut, Montreal's own foursome is back in the racks with a cleverly executed indie set, ripe with special guests and city-wide collaborators. Recorded at Hotel2Tango by owner Howard Bilderman (Arcade Fire, Basia Bulat, The Dears...), 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. Nice. - Nighlife Magazine