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[FUTURE POP] In terms of its origin story, Radiation City's third album is a rare "aborted-breakup record." So goes the narrative: Founding couple Cameron Spies and Lizzy Ellison were on the outs until the process of writing new material saved their relationship. That's the press-release version, anyway. Synesthetica is touted as an "overhaul" of the Rad City sound, but it's less a reinvention than a tilt of direction, away from the Space Age cabana pop that won them WW's Best New Band poll in 2012 and edging closer to Goldfrappian sci-fi glam—and, in its delicious song titles ("Milky White," "Sugar Broom," "Fancy Cherries"), Cibo Matto. It was supposedly written in a fit of desperate spontaneity, but these are some of the most immaculately crafted songs in the career of a band that's prided itself on songcraft. "Butter" exudes stylish, cinematic drama, while "Juicy" and "Milky White" have hooks primed for radio. Unknown Mortal Orchestra drummer Riley Geare, jumping behind the kit in the studio, gives the group a funky underpinning it never really had before, and the swirling, high-gloss production replaces the retro-futurist kitsch of its previous album, 2013's Animals in the Median. Of course, that sense of kitsch was always a key element of the band's unique appeal. That's the tradeoff of Synesthetica: It is Radiation City's best work yet, while also being the least distinctive. Making the record may have saved the band, but where it goes next is the truly interesting part.
SEE IT: Radiation City plays Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., with Moon By You and Smokey Brights, on Saturday, March 19. 6 pm and 9:30 pm. $13 advance, $15 day of show. Early show all ages, late show 21+.
Willamette Week