Radar Bros.
“The Fallen Leaf Pages”
Merge Records
Slowcore is an excuse for rock critics to praise molasses-paced
music. With the exception of the genre-defining band Low,
“slow” tends to be a euphemism for the word
“boring,” making the useless “core”
addendum irrelevant. Somewhere during the course of their previous
three records, the Radar Bros. were unceremoniously dumped into
this category. On their new album, “The Fallen Leaf
Pages,” the band puts the tag to shame by moving with nimble
feet more patient than plodding. Simply put, Radar Bros. are a
variation on a theme. They are Grandaddy without the sci-fi
overtones, Luna without the endless tropical cruise. Instead,
“The Fallen Leaf Pages” is a collection of moderately
paced guitar songs that hold their arms outstretched to embrace
psychedelic elements and a foreboding sense of autumn chill. Like
many of their contemporaries, Radar Bros. are gifted with talented
instrumentalists and an average singer. Jim Putnam uses what exists
of his range to its fullest extents, allowing his inflections to
carry the barest whisper of something ominous. Putnam’s voice
is a melodic instrument that becomes more interesting with time,
especially when he reaches for Beatles-esque heights on tracks like
“Government Land.” “Show Yourself” unveils
his true potential, with a haunting piano line and lyrics that go
hand in hand with a chill down the spine; “It’s nice to
see you/ with a knife in your back/ a raging red sea/ for which
your mouth is a sack,” a composed Putnam sings almost
optimistically. When a band rarely plays faster than waltz time,
perhaps the slowcore comparisons are inevitable, but Radar Bros.
are merely giving their songs room to breathe. Fittingly, the
album’s finale is titled “Breathing Again,” and
features ghostly keyboards and similarly transparent harmonies that
might be lost in the rush of a faster track. “The Fallen Leaf
Pages” is nothing if not well-crafted, merging Putnam’s
careful lead guitar with cascading drums and the steady plunk of
pianos and keyboard string tones. The album was recorded and mixed
by Putnam, and the three-year gap between this and “And The
Surrounding Mountains” seems to have been successfully
devoted to the studio. “The Fallen Leaf Pages” arrives
two seasons early, with the falling leaves of its title not yet
back on the trees. Though the changing colors and brisk air of fall
might better accompany their bittersweet sound, at least Radar
Bros. can finally be accused of moving too fast. ““David
Greenwald