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Recorded at Glasgow's Chem19 studio, Tacoma Radar's debut album 'No One Waved Goodbye' is full of laid-back, melancholic melodies. Brassy and harmless female vocals, cymbal-heavy rhythm and the occasional organ chord contribute but the sound is dictated primarily by the tone of the guitars. Kenny Anderson (also of Camera Obscura) rumbles and jangles his to produce noises not dissimilar to fellow Scots The Jesus & Mary Chain (Pilot House) and Mogwai (Past Worn Out) but elects (wisely) to keep songs short and compact, rather than long and exhaustive.
The whole band together, however, is a slightly more poppy creature and sits somewhere between a Spacemen 3 offshoot (Slipstream, for example), Whistler and many things C86. Take Your Time is a typically mournful example. As guitar strings are slowly bent, the singer whispers "ten thousands miles may seem a long way, it's been on your mind for days." Whilst 'No One Waved Goodbye' is by no means a recommended aural experience for someone considering suicide, it is beautiful nonetheless.

Chris Horkan
March-April 2004

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