by Dana Poland (@danazsz)
Beginning as a solo project in Sam Cook-Parrott’s bedroom in 2010, Radiator Hospital has spent the last decade evolving into an indie rock quartet with four full-length albums under their wing. Can’t Make Any Promises marks both the 20th anniversary of their label, Salinas Records, and the end of the longest gap between LPs in the band’s history. Yet, even after a three-year break, the overblown guitar cadences under a lo-fi fuzz, gloomy lyrical sentiments, and ambient synth melodies prove Radiator Hospital’s intention to stay true to their bedroom indie rock roots.
Can’t Make Any Promises’ terse lyricism is not necessarily a common feature of Radiator Hospital’s past discography, but what the new album lacks in narration is made up for in embittered, revelatory cadences that say more than words. Take for example, “Warming World,” the atmosphere is dark, gritty, and eerily wordless, with the first lyrics being uttered two minutes into the four-minute song. The back half’s few lyrics are swallowed by a brooding synth that slowly thickens throughout the track. As a result, the atmosphere drives the narration – a risky choice, no doubt, but executed flawlessly.
The propulsive yet warm aura familiar to Radiator Hospital’s earlier catalog remains present throughout the rest of the album. The tracks alternate between bubbly, percussive synth-pop and an overblown guitar sound that exemplifies the band’s range. The two singles, “Sweet Punisher” and “Yr Head,” demonstrate both styles. “Sweet Punisher” features a maximalist sound that constructs a dreamlike atmosphere, floating the subdued, laconic lyrics through synth melodies. Alternatively, “Yr Head” punches in with ninety seconds of jangly guitar, harmonic background vocals, and a dutiful drum pattern that are somehow familiar to an indie-rock quartet while being indescribably unique. The album saturates as it nears the end, each song more invigorating than the last. The final track, “Kill2Die,” contains such overwhelming guitar distortion and feedback that the instruments fuse together, creating a wall of sound that blends fluidly with the airy vocals.
The atmosphere Radiator Hospital creates time and time again leaves nothing to be desired. While there are clear glimpses of 90’s emo and indie influences present, Can’t Make Any Promises is hardly a pastiche of its predecessors. The lo-fi album oozes the same unrefined, saturated melodies of indie’s past while toying with idiosyncrasies that create a unique, ambient sound. Blistering guitar solos, mellow vocals, and harmonic distortion perfectly chart Radiator Hospital’s dedication to their homemade garage band aesthetic while proving the range they’ve developed over the past decade.