Radars have been on the, er, radar for a few years now bandying about their unique line of acoustic strumblings. For their new album, ‘Rock Is Not Your Enemy’ the two “life long school friends” decided to ceremonially torch their acoustic guitars live on stage at the Isle of Wight festival (probably) and prostrate themselves at the cloven feet of the lusty-eyed god of all things rockin’.
It’s all unashamedly big rock, I’d use the expression “balls out rock” but for the fact that it conjures a frankly nauseating image in my mind. It’s reminiscent of a heavier Electric Soft Parade or Brakes. The singer also sounds quite like Gruff from the Super Furries which is nice. The main problem that I have with this album is that it’s practically impossible to tell whether or not Radars are trying to be tongue in cheek about the whole thing or whether they sincerely want us to believe that rock is definitely not our enemy.
They tick all of the usual melodic rock cliches; ‘hoo-hoos’, surf rock backing vocals, song titles like ‘Be My Baby’, fists in the air choruses, chugging guitars. If they are genuinely preaching the good word of the rock then it’s a hugely cliched, by-the-numbers record but ultimately quite enjoyable in the same vein as Weezer or Ash when they still had Charlotte. If it’s a piss take then it’s well done if a little too clever-clever and so smug you may want to slap them.
Either way, it’s hardly likely to keep you up at night worrying about it. Good fun, unchallenging, balls out.