Saturday, March 10, 2012

Radar Eyes

From what I understand, the cool people don't like Hozac, the Chicago garage label for bands like the People's Temple, Reading Rainbow, Fungi Girls. We had a heated exchange a year or so ago on the Dusted board about this label, and you can read some pretty scathing reviews of their bands on Still Single, if you do a search.

I am not one of the cool people because I enjoyed records by all three of these bands and others further down the roster...and I'm really, really liking the new one from Radar Eyes.

Radar Eyes started in Chicago, around 2009 or 2010, releasing their first album on the cassette-only Plustapes label. Their self-titled (not sure whether this is the same as the cassette debut or not, but I think probably not) is loud and fuzzy and undeniably tuneful. Guitarist Anthony Cozzi calls it "psychedelic bubblegum" and points to Jesus & Mary Chain and (fellow Chicago-ans) the Ponys and Cococoma as influences. You can really hear the psych thread in "I Am", below, but I probably like "Disconnection", with its drone-y organ and sleepy, cloudy, tambourine-dragging melancholia, the best.

No comments: