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radian, "rec.extern"

Thrill Jockey
For Radian's second long player, the Austrian trio have consciouslymoved away from the more clinical and stringent sound of theirMego-associated first album. Rhythmic laptop clicks have beensurrendered for the sake of cooperative collaboration, as the membersare all taking equal parts, without the noises taking center stage.Known widely for their live act, the band has made a more noticablyconscious effort to attempt to convey that vibe on record this timearound. At times, when the band gets going, it can be a marvelloustreat. Beats are broken, riffs are made, and the feeling lies somewherebetween 1970s gangster-movie chase music and Ryoji Ikeda-like sine-wavenoises. There are numerous struggles when incorporating silence intothe mix, which might work for an attentive, unchatty audience, but forthe most part on record, these moments sound almost too-directionless.Thankfully the group will be out on the road soon with Pan American, soby then I'm sure everything will click in very, very nicely.

 

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