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Hemlock Tavern December 4, 2003 Review by T.M. Filler First up was Jeff Ray's (formerly of Zmrzlina, also curator of the burgeoning Mission Creek Music Festival) new project, Radius. I hesitate to use the word band, because Radius consists of just two core members. Jeff on acoustic guitar and vocals, and then Mark Edwards (Ants Climb Trees, as well as Mr. Toads Studio engineer) on keyboard/samples. About halfway through the set, they were joined by guest vocalist, Ananube. From what I hear they have a different guest vocalist at every show. But anyways, for any of you that have seen Zmrzlina, this stripped down instrumentation may come as a slight surprise, however, I must say, it works for the better. From the beginning of Radius' set, I was transfixed into their laid-back astro-folk. The first thought that came to my mind as to how they sounded, was something like Bill Callahan in space. Edwards slid around in his chair adjusting the keyboard and spitting out perfect sounds to compliment Ray's spare acoustic arpeggios while Ray's voice talk/sang up under the arrangements, filling out the sound at the edges. When Ananube joined them (matching Ray's vocals up a step), it added another nice element, as well as to the emotion and depth of the songs. One song in particular that I thought was great, was one about storytelling, the lyrics a sort of dedication to the pastime of sitting around with friends and telling stories, much like sitting around and singing and listening to songs. And in the end, what I can say, is that I think Radius has a good and interesting sound developing, and I look forward to seeing them again soon. ©2003 playinginfog.com |