Thursday, April 14, 2005

Radar Bros.

The Fallen Leaf Pages
The most frequent comparison the Radar Bros. get is that they sound like a country tinged Pink Floyd. While this may be true it really fails to describe how original they are. The first time I heard of them it was the mid to late 1990s. I lost track of them for a few years until I got this great disc. I think the real stand out track of this disc is “Papillon.” The sound of acoustic guitars, electric guitar twang, keyboard, and light percussion make a great combination. The lyrics are abstract but wonderful, “Hot night, crows fight, beetles in the fire light.”

Another great track “Is that Blood” features the great chorus, “Hey is that blood washing through our feet again? Is that blood coming from me? And hey are those tears washing through my fingers?” The gruesome imagery is set off against a cheerful guitar licks and vocals. This is great music for lying in a sunny room in the middle of the afternoon. The last track of the disc, “breathing again” is in the same vein as My Morning Jacket (all though the Radar Bros preceded them by a few years). It is in the same spirit of mellowness and wonderful washed out reverb. (Merge Records) (Dan Cohoon)