Album Review: Rademacher, "Stunts" (Self-release)

Fresno, CA's spirited indie-rock quartet Rademacher may reference home quite a bit on their full-length debut, "Stunts," but surprisingly, their most powerful track is titled "Arkansas"--a state far from the progressive energy of California. Not to worry, though; there's nothing bland or middle-America about it. In fact, there's nothing really New York or L.A. about it either. Instead, "Stunts" combines catchy beats, quirky lyrics and jarring rhythm changes to create an underground DIY sound all its own.

With enthusiastic choruses and vibrant instrumental fullness, "Arkansas" aggressively roars along like an Arcade Fire "Neon Bible" anthem--only Rademacher get more playful and elementary with their robotic vocal effects and hungover-sounding lyric pool ("If I knew what I knew before I knew it/I might have put more work into it"). Despite a retro-fuzzy, sci-fi-like beginning, "Arkansas" eventually spins into giddy madness like a poppy Shout Out Louds song.

"Arkansas" sums up the experimental, off-kilter vibe of the entire album: moments of eager pop-dance thrills, hand-clapping tunes, floundering, fun, but sometimes trying-hard-to-be-clever lyrics, exhaustingly repetitive choruses and melodies that dip between bright four-time rhythms and drugged-out psychedelia. At times, the musical components of the songs seem to struggle to carry chatty vocals that carelessly bump along like a stream-of-consciousness spiel. Singer Malcolm Sosa delivers his thoughts like a cavalier Lou Reed or probing, youthful Roger Waters.

More than an overly consistent album, "Stunts" feels like a nine-track demo of everything Rademacher is capable of producing but doesn't want to attack full-on--at least not for more than a track or two. Are they an eccentric, peppy rock band, epic-minded makers of cacophony, or visionaries on a beatnik quest? It's hard to say. Here, they appear to be all of the above, which, ultimately, may be the biggest stunt they could hope to pull.

Available at www.radradrad.com/