May 2002 • Rockbites Alternative Daily
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Radar Brothers deliver soft antidote 23 May 2002
It has been some time coming, delayed by Radar Brothers front man Jim Putnam completely rebuilding his home-based Skylab studio, now christened Phase Three—that, on top of the Los Angeles-based band’s well laid-back pace of releasing an album, say, every three years or so. But for fans the wait for the third Radar Brothers LP, And The Surrounding Mountains (released 7 May for the US on Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s Merge records, 6 May for the UK on Glasgow’s Chemikal Underground) has proved well worth it. Those new to Radar Brothers will find in this record a soft antidote to the bullshit aggressive pace of modern western culture. ATSM is first and foremost an album in which to lose yourself, in stillness, with your eyes closed—lest you miss the whole point—and lest you miss this record’s oceanic depths of sonic beauty, constructed with the extended fade of a guitar strum, the tinsel-glitter of a languid synth chord, and the random evolution of some electronic distortion... all leavened with snippets of household and backyard noises. Drinking from the same musical river from which Modesto’s Grandaddy make their electric Kool Aid—running from far up the timestream, past land owned by Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, and King Crimson—Radar Brothers can’t help but sound a bit like their northern California soul mates. But Radar Brothers take moments, track by track, to pay tribute directly to their heroes on the new LP. On This Xmas Eve they refer both melodically and lyrically to Nashville collective Lambchop; on Mothers, to King Crimson; and on The Wake Of All That’s Past, to The Beach Boys. Meanwhile, the ghost of Pink Floyd haunts all these songs. And The Surrounding Mountains is slow, super soothing, country-tinged psychedelia, as deep as your ears and your own approach to life let you listen. Four bites out of five. Rockbites ratings 5: life changing, 4: stunning, 3: captivating, 2: amusing, 1: annoying. Radar Brothers begin a European tour supporting The Breeders on Monday, followed by a headlining US tour that runs into August. Check the Merge Website for details. | Radar Brothers on Merge | | Radar Brothers on Chemikal Underground | | fan site | | On The Line (full length MP3) | | CD from Amazon US | | discography | | top of page | |
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