By Stan Cierlitsky
It is such a joy to be able to sit here and write a review for two new EP's from Admiral Radley, a project featuring Jason Lytle from Grandaddy and Aaron Espinoza from Earlimart, among others. These two releases are also the first offerings from the band in about a decade.
I have been such a huge fan of Jason Lytle ever since my friend Bob played me "Everything Beautiful is Far Away" back in 1997. And does it get any better than "We Drink on the Job" from Earlimart's 2003 album Everyone Down Here? I think not.
The other reason I really wanted to do this review was that even though I am a pretty big fan of these folks, I had no idea this was even out until my wife, a follower of Jason Lytle on IG, mentioned something to me this week. I figure that there must be others out there who are unaware that these two musicians had put anything new out again, and it's my pleasure to highlight such good music.
ADRAD Radio Vol. 1 came out back in July, and ADRAD Radio Vol. 2 came out earlier this month. I was so blown away by these songs and I've played these EP's over and over, and that's a real rarity for me these days.
Now, I did know the song "The Singularity" from earlier this year. It was co-written by Jason and Malojian. Malojian released a beautiful quiet version of the song and Admiral Radley released a much more upbeat version which you can find here on ADRAD Radio Vol. 1. And I just wanted to point out to those of you that never heard of Admiral Radley you need to get their 2010 album as well as these EP's because it's a great record. As much as I like these folks, and given that I do still go to my fair share of concerts when I'm not in lockdown, I have only seen Jason and Aaron once live, back in 2010 when they were touring the first Admiral Radley long-player. Also, my wife and I still regularly listen to I Heart California, but we usually end up arguing about it because she believes that the title cut is the best track on the album, while I am clearly team "Red Curbs"; I'm not sure how she can be so wrong.
Anyway, ADRAD Radio Vol. 1 starts out with the song "ERASEDELETEBYEBYEMYBAD", a track which seems to clearly lean towards Gradaddy, especially given the upbeat Jason lyrics and vibe of the thing. "Pink Cloud Motel" is a pretty slower number that Aaron sings. I would have said that this song leans Earlimart, but musically it kind of leans towards The Flaming Lips too, circa Yoshimi. Going through these new tracks, the one difference I hear overall between the debut album and these EP's, is that the EP's definitely seem to have more synthesized music elements. Not sure if that is by design, or the fact that the quarantine limits a lot of what people can do.
Of the 10 tracks on these two new EP's, it's worth mentioning that at least four are skits, or interludes, and those definitely lean Grandaddy to me. Three of these tracks are going to introduce you to some more characters that like those from past Grandaddy songs, like "Jed the Humanoid" or "Todd Zilla", my fave.
"Memories at 133", a beautiful ballad, is the perfect mix of the styles of the two bands. Another highlight here is "The Singularity", another song that is a perfect blend. And it's one which features fewer synthesized instruments. I see from the credits that Jim Fairchild is involved with this project. I have to mention Jim, because if I could clone one person on this earth it would be him. It's a shame that two of my all-time favorite bands, Grandaddy and Modest Mouse, have to share a guitarist. I blame there only being one Jim Fairchild for the fact that we aren't getting a new album a year from each of those bands.
As of now, ADRAD Radio Vol. 2 only has three songs, though emails from the band indicate that a couple more songs might be added in the coming months. "Goddamnit", the frenzied opener on volume 2, is another favorite of mine. This is the song that sounds like it's a response to what we have all been going through this year. Aaron sings, "Goddamn I'm terrified, gonna stay at home, gonna feed the mice, gonna watch the news, gotta realize, I need some help, man." It's hard not to relate to this one. The second track on Volume 2, "You Can Do Better", is my favorite of the whole project. No disrespect to the non-Grandaddy collaborators here -- I'm talking to you Stan Cannonball -- but this sounds like quintessential Grandaddy, and it's amazing! I'm really curious if this was written and intended for that second not-yet-released reunion album in mind. It's really a superb composition, and one where every element seems to come together to create something magical.
So for now we've got these 10 new Admiral Radley songs, and while the wait for new Admiral Radley material was a long one, it was worth the wait, especially since these new songs are such a joy in a year where so much is bleak and awful. I am very much looking forward to even more from Admiral Radley soon.
More details on Admiral Radley via the official website.
[Photo: Admiral Radley]