Radiation City - Cool Nightmare (EP)
Label.........................: Tender Loving Empire
Genre.........................: Indie
StoreDate.....................: Apr-10-2012
Source........................: CDDA
Grabber.......................: Exact Audio Copy (Secure Mode)
Encoding Scheme...............: Lame 3.98.4 V0 VBR Joint-Stereo
Size..........................: 39.52 MB
Total Playing Time............: 21:48
Release Notes:
I donÆt think the members of Radiation City are perfectionists, but
together they make some perfect pop music. The Portland quintetÆs live
shows sound like elaborately produced studio recordings, and its spacey,
soulful 2011 debut record sounded too otherworldly and precise to have
come from a city known for rustic folk-pop and muddy doom metal. And now
Radiation City sounds like itÆs from another planet.
The Cool Nightmare EPùwith all its spy-movie twang and cosmic
reverbùhints at sexy European influences like Portishead and Air (IÆm
also convinced some of Rad CityÆs roots can be traced to the CardigansÆ
spacey Æ90s super-hit, ôLovefoolö) without undercutting the bandÆs DIY
credentials. It can be hard to believe, at times, that this explosive
and cinematic seven-song collection was recorded by the bandÆs members
in a remote cabin and a basement.
Not that Cool Nightmare sounds stuffy. Though the recordings are largely
pristine, one hears little idiosyncrasiesùrandom amplifier buzz, studio
voices haunting tracks, the depressingly underwhelming round of applause
midway through ôHide From the Nightöùthat could presumably be manicured
by some outside producer to sound as cool as Coldplay. But those
imperfections keep Cool Nightmare real. After all, in the wrong hands,
singer/songwriter/pianist Lizzy Ellison becomes Adele (no, really, she
can sing like crazy) and the whole thing blows up in Radiation CityÆs
face.
Cool Nightmare stands proudly above the blog-buzz muck because this band
is brilliant, courageous and largely democratic. Cameron Spies and co.
have diverse enough tastes to keep the music entirely unpredictable, but
theyÆre focused enough to keep it all dry under the same umbrella. These
are songs that really need to be described in parts: ôFind It of Useö
starts like a Latin-jazz advertising jingle played in reverse before
launching into what literally sounds like a countdown and blastoff; ôEye
of Yoursö takes a mid-song tropical vacation; ôWinter Blindö opens with
a robot army on the march and ends with a twisted reinterpretation of
David BowieÆs ôFive Yearsö (really, the whole EP is on a bit of a death
trip).
Cool Nightmare is a must-hear EP, but perhaps more impressive, Radiation
City is a self-made bandùand itÆs doing just about everything right.
Tracklisting
01. I Would Hide 0:47
02. Hide From The Night 3:39
03. Find It Of Use 4:26
04. Heart Of Mine 2:36
05. Eye Of Yours 3:58
06. Winter Blind 5:19
07. Hacienda 1:03
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