I got my copy in Road Records. Like other shops I saw it in, a copy of the Summer Season Ep was going free with it. A first listen has me thinking of Television , Pete/Phil's crunchy guitar sound being very much the equal of the Verlaine/Lloyd sound. Along with the glue of Steve's swirling keyboard work, Johnny's rock-solid beat , Jesse subtle bass and the heartfelt vocals this is a disc I'm going to be listening to a lot. Anita Bonnie's vocals on a few tracks are very welcome, along with the restrained brass work.
I'm sure there are some heavy jelly sentiments behind the lyrics but right now I'm just letting the sounds sink in. A neat photo of Joe Meek , along with a pretty scary drawing (credited to Jesse Booth) tells me this isn't going to be a 'moon in June' album. Ronnie Norton's group photo of the Rads is interesting, very 'Sopranos'. The besuited elder members lurk menacingly a la Pauli/Tony/Silvio/Vito , with Jesse very much adopting the Christopher Moltisanti pose . The headless mannequinn with the Rads. t-shirt has me wondering if the bowling ball case is slightly out of shot.......
Julie 'n Dave in Road were putting the disc on sale when I walked in this morning. It isn't on their site yet but I'm sure it will be soon. It might be a few quid more than the chain stores but , as they say, 'The store is run by two human beings, so you are guaranteed a personal touch. KEEP INDIE STORES ALIVE !'
http://www.roadrecs.com/index.php