Radiation City’s Animals in the Median is an album of quirky, off-kilter little pop songs that owe as much to the Crystals and the Shangri La’s as they do the Pacific Northwest haven of creative oddity from which they hail. The album in general is not only fun and listenable, but sonically rich and rewarding, bearing qualities that are sure to please casual listeners as well as discerning audiophiles. While bright pop defines much of the album, darker sounds creep into the album’s more challenging second half.
The songs of Animals in the Median are deceptively complex from the onset. Although the foreground is upbeat, simple pop that draws on 60s influences, the backdrop is busy with sounds—stuttering beats, singular distorted guitar strums, and swirling synths. There’s so much sound that even Phil Spector would be proud. All of these trends are observable on outstanding opener “Zombies” before following track “So Long” even adds a touch of tropicalia rhythm structures. “Wash of Noise” proves an apt title for the song, which centers on an ever-climbing and ethereal vocal build that fades to synth strings in the song’s final moments.
Rising out of the downtempo beat of “Food,” a shimmering UFO sound effect surges forward before the track moves seamlessly into the hazy pop of album highlight “Foreign Bodies.” The latter track bursts with energy from organs to reverb-laden vocals—it’s excellent. It’s likely this aural ambitiousness that makes the eerie, barren simplicity of following track “Wary Eyes” so shocking, although the track serves as a fair warning for less bright material to come. “LA Beach” returns to pop terrain and feels appropriately sunny and beachy.
The second half of Animals is jarringly dark and moody, almost completely forsaking the overt pop sensibilities that dominate the first half of the album. Steady percussion crop up on “Buckminsterfullerene” and “Summer Rain” providing a hint of the preceding approach to song craft, but more often ghostly synths and sparse vocals drive these more minimal mixes. Of the later tracks, the slow groove of “Summer Rain” finds the greatest success by utilizing soulful organ and funky guitars. Simple, vaguely Latin acoustic guitar picking, pulsing synth, and eventually a sound byte of chirping frogs concludes the album like some half remembered dream on “Call Me.”
One thing that’s easy to say about Animals in the Median is that I haven’t heard a record like it all year, or the year before for that matter. The Pacific Northwest seems to be uniquely qualified for churning out interesting and creative bands, and Radiation City is certainly among them. Two trustworthy sources have imparted to me that the band’s live show is not to be missed. Something we plan to take to heart when the group is here next week on June 4th for a show at the Mohawk. See you there, Austin.
