|
(Clicka qua per la versione Italiana)
The Radar Bros are a Los Angeles trio, led by
former Medicine's guitarist Jim Putnam,
that plays melancholy, mildly psychedelic, folk-pop in the
vein of Red House Painters and
Idaho, enhanced with subtle jamming a` la
Low.
But Radar Bros (Restless, 1996) is too relaxed, to the point of becoming
anemic and apathic. There is no life in the self-indulgent, sparse mourning of
Lose Your Face Again and Capital Gain, occasionally even sliding
into late Pink Floyd's torpor. The vocals imitate Robert Wyatt's dreamy
falsetto, but without the emotional appeal.
Vastly improved arrangements (bordering on the orchestral) make
The Singing Hatchet (See Thru Broadcasting, 1999) less of a bore,
but Putnam is still lacking good songs to start with and
Dark Side of the Moon-period Pink Floyd still haunt most of the songs.
Unfortunately, And The Surrounding Mountains (Merge, 2002) returns to
the "alt country" dimension. Except for the relatively upbeat Mountains
and a few dreadful interferences between Mersey-beat and sweet soul
(Sisters), the songs whine along trapped in that "My voice sounds like
Roger Waters" universe (You And The Father, Morning Song).
The Fallen Leaf Pages (Merge, 2005) is not much more musical than its
predecessors. Jim Putnam's songwriting and his delivery are certainly decent
(see Faces Of The Damned), but he belongs to
a generation of egocentric songwriters who think that any thought they set
to music must be worth listening to. Mostly, it isn't, no matter how clever
it is.
Auditorium (Merge, 2008) fares better mainly because it broadens
the palette towards a more psychedelic ecstasy.
The Radar Brothers' bassist Senon Williams also plays in Dengue Fever (with Cambodian vocalist Chhom Nimol, Dieselhed's guitarist Zac Holtzman, Beck's saxophonist David Ralicke, keyboardist Ethan Holtzman, drummer Paul Smith), who debuted with Dengue Fever (Web of Mimicry, 2003), mostly centered on the vocals and with a repertory largely drawn from Cambodian pop. The combo's mission became more focused with Escape From Dragon House (2005), a nostalgic fusion of world-music and psychedelic-rock of the Sixties. Venus on Earth (2008) was basically its radio-friendly version.
The Radar Brothers' Jim Putnam launched a new career as Mt Wilson Repeater with
the more electronic Mt Wilson Repeater (2008).
The Illustrated Garden (2010)
signaled that the Radar Brothers were becoming an empty vessel.
Eight (Merge Records, 2013) contains the catchy
If We Were Banished.
|
