Radian - Chimeric

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4...according to our Dave on Thu 12 Nov, 2009.

Which brings me to Radian with long player 'Chimeric'. The post rock button has genuinely been pushed. This record offers a lot to bearded, stand with your arms folded at gigs nodding types. They have quite a claustrophobic quality.With vibraphone and introverted samples dominating proceedings, but does not seem to move above brooding pace, which gives it a soundtrack effect. The cover is really poncey as well...its a broken vase with dying flower petals strewn about the place.Its probably meant to signify the eternal suffering and tragedy of living in Chiswick. The flipside is more of an attack on the senses,with instruments cutting in with an almost jazzy gusto. It's on Thrill Jockey....

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In Radian’s own words: “‘Chimeric’ is not a polished
album. Within our context it is raw, broken, even dark
sometimes. Steady, multiple rhythms, layered on top of
each other disappear into chaos and turn back into
discreet structures In the next moment. References of
rock music, executed with the precision of a sequencer;
mutated, restructured. A lot on this album is about
control and the loss of control. The risk of failure. This
was probably always in our music, but kept in a very
stable form, sometimes even hidden. But Chimeric is
much more free. Some of the longer pieces are
composed of very different parts and different colours
along a continuous timeline. They tend to evolve in a
narrative form and are moving through various scenes
and surroundings, which is also present in the spatial
relationship between the instruments. One could see the
album as one continuous story, where some elements
are passed from one piece to the next and then serve as
the base for a completely new scenario. The result was
something unpredictable and unstable, even for us”.