Review Summary: Once more unto the breach
Have
Every Time I Die always been quite this
angry? The answer, obviously, is
yes - as each and every one of the band's southern-fried, riff-stacked LPs can attest to - and yet there’s something distinctly, dizzingly
fucking furious about
Radical that is just
chef kiss levels of delicious
(*mwah*).
Opening trio “Dark Distance”, “Sly” and “Planet Shit” erupt with the kind of pissed-the-
heck-off energy that the Buffalo-bred quintet haven’t
quite hit since 2012’s
Ex Lives. The
slightly more composed and calculated tendencies of the band's recent output are briskly shaken off in exchange for
Radical's joyously jagged edges, tinged as always with their characteristic
hot pink flair for groove and melody. “All This And War” and “AWOL” keep the party going, breathlessly tossing out hand grenade after hand grenade of infectious bluesy hellfire. Jordan and Andy bounce frantic, funky licks off one another throughout both tracks, as Keith bellows out endless cathartic one-liners with reliable bravado and grit. Equally impressive are the softer cuts, ETID retaining a dash of poise and composure to their repertoire despite their renewed ferocity. The serene “Thing With Feathers” and painfully singable “Post-Boredom” pace out the boisterous beatdowns nicely, whilst the pensive "Desperate Pleasures" and “We Go Together” dial in some morishly claustrophobic atmospherics, sporadically bursting open with landmine drum-kicks and feedback freakouts just as you'd hope.
The thing is, I'm probably not telling you anything that you didn't already know. The lads have been at the centre of the pit since their favoured flavour of
heavy was first conceived, and whilst many other names have come and gone, "Every Time I Die" still remains at the tip of our collective tongue after over 20 years.
Radical is by no means a reinvention or revelation for the band, but I wouldn't want it to be. In refusing to fix what ain't broke, ETID prove themselves once more as the reigning king of their peculiar, blood-splattered bouncy-castle. I think I can speak for everyone when I say:
thank fuck for that.
