Music genres are dead! Not only that, version of life is the sound of Radiola hammering the final nail in that restrictive coffin. And if you think that opening line is just the sound of a music scribbler (i.e., me) trying to sound important, listen to the album opener, ‘This Song is False.’ Chiming folk becomes shimmering indie becomes growling roots-rock becomes all out foot-on-the-monitor rock and roll, all in around four minutes. They then spend a further four minutes exploring various rock-driven moods and moves and grooves. That’s how you start an album!
Whereas some might tell them to pick a lane, I love Radiola’s ability to careen and career, skid and slide (purposefully) all over the musical landscape, burning rubber and smoking the place out in any sound or style that takes their fancy.
‘Wild Things (Let Your Hair Down) is Wilco-esque, layered and textured, emotive rather than energetic, gorgeously understated whilst being cleverly ornate…not sure how you do that, but they do. ‘The Smile I’m Hiding’ has a pop heart, ‘Love is Broken’ is as soulful and seductive, and the title track is, well, beautifully odd…but odd is good, right? Odd is out there, unpredictable, un-second-guessable, original!
version of life is what happens when a band learns the rules of rock and roll and assumes that they don’t apply to them. (Why should they?) It’s not even the sound of a band knowingly going against traditions; it’s just that, rather than following the map, they go off-road through some wild and wonderful, majestic and marvelous sonic places. More bands should try it.
