Radiation City

There is no point in hiding on denying my bias: I'm a Radiation City fan.

The music that Rad City creates is a perfect match to my ears: a little lo-fi, a little haunting, a little retro, a little reverby, and a LOT beautiful. They are the catsup to my weiner, the Beaver to my Cleaver, and the Brad to my 'Gelina.

Listening to the EP that they released last year, Cool Nightmare, is like walking through a quaint neighborhood in the early 60s that is so perfect...it's almost creepy.

And I love that sort of thang.

....BUT what if I didn't like their new album Animals in the Median? I've hyped it up on Syffal and I've hyped it up in my head. My expectations were so lofty that I wasn't sure they could be met by anybody, let alone these 5 adorable sacks of cuteness from Portland.

Well, my anxiety was gradually put at ease after the first singles off Animals in the Median were released: Foreign Bodies and Zombies. The songs were exactly what I wanted to hear: perfect production and that patented (and self-described) doom wop sound.

AND THEN this week I got my hands on the enitre album. I realized that those first two singles were just the tip of a vast ice berg that ran sooooo deep. Not code.  Animals in the Median is jam packed with so much instrumentation and insane harmonies that it kept my skin in a consistent state of goosebumpedness. Not only did Radiation City meet my expectations; they blew them the fuck up. Animals in the Median is about as close to perfection as any other band/artist has gotten in 2013.

With that said, certain songs won't stand up on their own as a single. This is not a knock against those songs; they add to, and are crucial to the entire piece of work. These 'moments' (*tracks that are not traditional in structure and/or length) give Rad City a chance to experiment without having to edit anything out of the album. When most bands would try to cram these 'beautiful ideas' into a place where they don't belong, build a song around them, or take them out completely; Rad City just lets them resonate in their natural state. And it works. These days there is too much focus on creating an album full of singles that can be sold on itunes for $.99 each. Rad City is like the free spirited hippy that doesn't abided by societal norms and this is why I love them.

Inspiring bands should learn from their methodology: If an idea sounds good, KEEP IT. If it's short, but beautiful...KEEP IT. If a track doesn't contain a chorus....who the fuck cares, KEEP IT.

Does anybody think the Beatles cared about singles when they wrote the B side to Abbey Road? They didn't! And that B side that never produced any top selling singles (other than possibly 'Here Comes the Sun') remains my favorite 20 or so minutes in the history of music.

Now, I'm not saying this is the famed Abbey Road Melody, but I feel that as a band Radiation City incorporates this thematic process in their writing. This is why you need to get the album on vinyl. There is no desire to skip from track to track. The album flows because it's pieced together perfectly.

And if you don't have a turntable, get one...specifically for this album. 

Animals is the Median is an example of why physical records are still made. (pre-order here)

Listen to this taint chilling bag of haunting retroness when it drops on the 21st. Sit down because the knee-weakening beauty will suck the blood from your head into you erection (or she-rection) and leave you feeling faint. Don't collapse bro. Prepare yourselves for the best album of 2013.

Yeah, I said it.

Best.