by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
The past thirteen years have found Philadelphia’s Radiator Hospital releasing fuzzy pop and lo-fi indie punk songs that feel like a comfort. Their music understands the struggle of existence and self-doubt, but they’re here to remind you we’re all in this together. With a slew of DIY releases and slightly-less-DIY releases, the band’s first decade was hyper prolific. Radiator Hospital released four full length albums in a five year stretch and over a dozen other EPs, splits, and live recordings, but things have been quiet for the past few years. That ends today with the announcement of Can’t Make Any Promises, their first new record in four years. Their fifth album for Salinas Records (Quaker Wedding, Freezing Cold, Vacation) comes exactly twenty years to the day of the label’s first release, May 25th, and if that ain’t reason to celebrate, the music is.
Recorded with Kyle Gilbride in their shared practice space, Radiator Hospital have never sounded better. Captured in a lo-fi haze with plenty of scotch-taped together pop tunes, there’s a special kind of depth to both the melodic sensibilities and to Sam Cook-Parrott’s relatable lyrics. It’s the type of record where each song engrosses you further, highlights popping up at every turn, from a phrase to a tone, Radiator Hospital have damn near perfected what they’ve been hinting at all this time. It feels homespun in the absolute best kind of way, a gem of basement pop reverence.
Take for example the album’s lead single, “Yr Head,” a song that opens with a blistering immediacy but not necessarily a sense of aggression. The quartet sound huge, channeling overblown guitar chemistry into a graceful blanket of fuzzy harmonies. You could pick and pull references from bands both legendary and obscure, from towns like Olympia and their home in Philly, but comparisons aren’t needed. Those guitars, both dense and somehow subdued are the backbone for Cook-Parrott’s weary but infectious vocals, laconic in delivery but gluey with melody, his words set themselves perfectly in the mix. The song grapples with thoughts of entitlement and complacency, with coming to terms that the thoughts in your head also have relevance to life outside of it. The video, directed and animated by Nick Berger does a great job to capture the sound of their song, fuzzy and delightful, flowery but oozing with character.
Tour Dates:
6/02 - Philadelphia, PA @ Ukie Club
6/03 - Baltimore, MD @ Joe Squared
6/04 - Washington, DC @ Comet
6/05 - New York, NY @ TV Eye