Ah, Radiator. They came, they saw, they released one album, they fought with their record company, they disappeared again. A sad tale, and one that seems to be increasingly common in today's music industry.
Radiator are (were) guitarist/vocalist Jack Cooke, bassist/programmer Janne Jarvis, ... Read review
A review by redhillier on Radiator - Radiator June 16th, 2005
Author's product rating:
Originality
Groundbreaking
Lyrics
Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks
A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Not applicable
Value for Money
Excellent
Advantages:
Unique sound, lots of energy, catchy tunes
Disadvantages:
All too brief recording career
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Ah, Radiator. They came, they saw, they released one album, they fought with their record company, they disappeared again. A sad tale, and one that seems to be increasingly common in today's music industry.
Radiator are (were) guitarist/vocalist Jack Cooke, bassist/programmer Janne Jarvis, and drummer/programmer Chris Rose. I remember reading an article about them in 1998, and it turned out that all three of them lived in an old pub in the East End of London, which had been converted into a house with a recording studio in its basement (where this album was recorded). Nice guys too, according to my sources in the recording industry.
Musically, Radiator are very difficult to categorise. Not heavy enough to qualify as 'Industrial', they used far too many guitars to be classed alongside the Prodigy, and despite fusing punk, funk, rock and techno and indulging in liberal use of drum machines, they sound nothing like Nine Inch Nails, New Order or Gravity Kills. So I'll avoid trying to pigeonhole them and just tell you about their self-titled album.
Released in 1999, "Radiator" is an energetic, catchy piece of work that can a) liven up a dull day, b) get you shaking your ass as you get ready for a night out, or c) keep you entertained while driving (you certainly won't be falling asleep at the wheel, that's for sure).
Track by track, with my guesses about what they're about (all songs excellent unless otherwise stated):
1. I Am A song about confidence, or more specifically the confidence to keep your nerve when things are going wrong. Opens the album in a flourish of energy, a punk song with samples and breakbeats. Occasionally slows in pace for about half a second before kicking back in louder and faster than before.
2. Black Shine The title refers to something drug-related, although I don't know what as I've never been into them. Loud guitars, blaxploitation bass, breakbeats, and Jack Cooke's vocals sounding like Robbie Williams would if he'd been in Judas Priest rather than Take That.
3. Generator A rebuttal of politicians' cringeworthy attempts to prove how they understand young people. Funk bassline (a bit Red Hot Chilli Peppers, if truth be told), electronic drums, sarcasm.
4. Amnesia Changes pace half-a-dozen times in four minutes, from trippy-techno quietness to howling punk defiance. Think they may have worked their drum machine to death on this one. Oh, and it's about memory loss (forgot to tell you).
5. Resistor About resisting peer pressure. Very electronic, sounds like the kind of thing you'd expect to hear in a club in mainland Europe. Feels like an epic, even though it's only three and a half minutes long.
6. Untitled Love Song Drum machines and acoustic guitars? Slow number, kind of gives you the suspicion that it's on the album just so the lads could prove they could do something other than 'loud'. Out of place here, and disrupts the album's flow. Taken in isolation though, it's quite a nice song about missing someone.
7. Whole Inside The polar opposite of ULS, Radiator use every weapon they have to make this one a) breakneck fast, and b) ear-bleedingly loud. Subject matter: overcoming the odds.
8. Give Deals with relationships with one's parents. Another funk bassline, energetic guitars and vocals ranging from quiet and melodic to Rage-Against-the-Machine loud.
9. Make It Real Released as a single, I think it actually charted in the UK (albeit low down). The most 'complete' song on the album, fantasic shimmering guitar riff underpinned by a solid but unobtrusive bassline. Jarvis and Rose provide backing vocals on this one, giving Cooke's vox more depth as he sings about personalities and how complex they are.
10. Feel Another slower number, this stands out because it has almost no electronic effects at all (you can hear the drum machine pattering away quietly on occasion), but it's mostly acoustic guitar and Cooke's vocals. Another love song, this sets the album up nicely for its' up-tempo finish.
11. Who Is Your God Very techno (almost no guitars) and very fast. Bookends the album with another huge burst of energy: at one point the drum machine is going full tilt and then Chris Rose throws in some real drums on top. Another song about narcotics, and curiously enough the song sounds like the kind of thing you'd hear in a club at 3am, when the only people with enough energy left to dance are the ones who've been at the funny pills or drunk eight cans of Red Bull.
Also worth looking out for are the band's CD singles (both Make It Real and Black Shine were released as singles). The B-sides include such gems as a semi-techno cover of the Sex Pistols' "Submission", and a hugely fun burst of electronic noise called "Keep My Head".
"So Where Can I Buy This?" I hear the masses (okay, one or two of you) cry. Well, your best bet is either eBay, or amazon's music search. Trying to look for it using a normal search engine is a no-no because 1) Super Furry Animals released an album called "Radiator", 2) there's another band called "The Radiators", and 3) you'll end up looking at thousands of pages of things to heat your house with.
Advantages: Timeless songs Disadvantages: It was released so long ago
...finest hour oh yeah
All I want is a photo in my wallet
A small remembrance of something more solid
All I want is a picture of you?
Rating 10/10
4. Fade Away and Radiate (4:02)
Fade Away and Radiate begins with a single drum beat and sounds very like the beginning of ?Vienna? by Ultravox. Debbie?s voice starts off being very soft, and then a soft guitar comes in, with echoing guitars throughout. By the second verse, Debbie?s voice gets louder, although the instruments do not. A great guitar solo, lots of echo, with drums coming in at end and the song finishes off with the guitar on its own.
?Fade away and radiate
The beams become my dream
My dream is on the screen
Fade away and radiate
Fade away and radiate?
Rating 10/10
5. Pretty Baby (3:18)
Pretty Baby starts off with a fast drumbeat and I have to say is slightly...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Intricate songwriting with some wonderfully erudite lyrics Disadvantages: Some may find the disjointed style off-putting
...aware of our actions and witness the consequences of them as we stand sixty minutes by the concrete lake and see for ourselves the destruction we can and are creating as a people.
'I swear there's someone inside
Fighting to get outside
Just give it all an hour
By the Concrete lake!'
Pain of Salvation have more to say than most bands ever will with some truly remarkable playing to back them up. They are not the easiest band to warm to with their erratic timing and disjointed rhythms but given the chance they can amaze you with their depth of feeling and passion.
The 'concrete lake' refers to Lake Karachay in the former USSR where so much nuclear waste was dumped that if you were to stand by its shores for sixty minutes you would die of radiation poisoning within two weeks. The lake was eventually filled in...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Some good moments Disadvantages: Pop-rock - ychhh
...I’d imagine it would sound similar to the verse to this song, while the verse goes more U2 but about drugs. Nothing particularly wrong with the song but it’s not particularly memorable. Wouldn’t turn it on, wouldn’t turn it off – but would perhaps like it more the later at night it was.
* Crash *
Starting off with a gentle tremolo’d guitar riff, the song fools you into thinking it’s a ballad. But when the distorted guitars crash in you know Feeder have pulled the wool over your eyes. Once the song is off and running the music switches between full out rocking sections and parts where the rock guitars are merged with the intro riff. Effective and easily the best song on the album so far.
* Radiation *
Starting with a slow grungy, almost Soundgarden feel, Radiation keeps the grunge...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
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04.06.2003
