Eight

Radar Brothers - Eight

Radar Brothers – Eight (2013, Merge Records)

1. If We Were Banished [download]
2. Reflections
3. Couch
4. Change College Of Law
5. Disappearer
6. Ebony Bow
7. House Of Mirrors
8. Angler’s Life
9. Bottle Song
10. Time Rolling By
11. Horse Down
“…like a beefed-up, dark yet hopeful, undeniably strong companion to the band’s prior high-water mark, And the Surrounding Mountains. Ten years ago, that was Radar Bros. at their best. I say “was” because maybe Eight is their best record yet. Or maybe it has no comparison. Maybe it’s just the beginning for a new incarnation of the band. So it’s either a new height or a bold first step. Either way, it’s a hell of a record.” – Popmatters


Radar Brothers return with Eight, a very special new release only available on LP and digital beginning January 29. Featuring an expanded band of brothers including Stevie Treichel and Be Hussey from The Illustrated Garden as well as new members Dan Iead (formerly of The Broken West) on guitar/pedal steel, and Brian Cleary and Ethan Walter on piano and synthesizers. Between the two keyboards and Iead and Putnam’s guitars, the band orchestrates a swirling fervor that glides over Treichel and Hussey’s rhythmic aggressions.

The band called the record Eight, and it may well be Radar Brothers’ darkest, hardest rocking, most psychedelic, and yet most intensely personal album to date. From Putnam’s tribute to Joni Mitchell’s cover art (The Hissing of Summer Lawns) to the surreal, picturesque lyrics to the unidentifiable textures and sounds that pour from your speakers like liquid paintings – this may also be the band’s most visual album to date.

So forget everything that you know or have ever thought about Radar Brothers. From the very start, Eight explodes with newness and bold, otherworldly jaunts. While paying tribute to their past on several songs, the band retains its swagger in this new territory throughout the rest.

“Their new single, “If We Were Banished,” feels like a patient, fuzzy hallucination with piles of bombastic razor guitars and Jim Putnam’s vocals providing a soft, trusty guide.” –RCRD LBL

CREDITS:
Jim Putnam – vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboard, piano, bass (a4)
Be Hussey – bass, vocals, drums (B3), guitar (B4), group vocals
Stevie Treichel – drums, percussion, group vocals
Ethan Walter – keyboard, piano, guitar (a3), group vocals
Brian Cleary – piano, keyboard, acoustic guitar (a4), group vocals
Dan Iead – guitar, acoustic guitar, pedal steel

Produced by Jim Putnam and Be Hussey
Recorded and Mixed by Jim Putnam and Be Hussey at the Phase4 Intergalactic Recording Facility and comp-ny, Los Angeles CA
Additional engineering by Ethan Walter