The L.A.-based
Radar Bros. -- originally comprised of guitarist
Jim Putnam (
Medicine,
Maids of Gravity), bassist Senon Williams (
Dengue Fever), and drummer Steve Goodfriend -- debuted with a self-titled EP (Fingerpaint Records) and quickly gained themselves a following in the U.K. By 1996, the band had signed to Restless Records and issued a self-titled LP that combined sonic guitarscapes and smoky melodies, earning
Radar Bros. a slowcore/sadcore tag and aligning them with peers
Acetone and
Low (while evoking memories of
Neil Young,
Brian Wilson, and
Pink Floyd). Singing Hatchet followed in 1999, and the band supported its release with tours across North America, the U.K., and Europe. Three years went by before their sun-drenched follow-up was released, but
And the Surrounding Mountains was a
Crazy Horse-meets-
Pink Floyd record that brightened the Merge Records release schedule in the spring of 2002. The band subsequently chose to stick with Merge, releasing
The Fallen Leaf Pages in 2005 and
Auditorium (their first album with guitarist/keyboardist Jeff Palmer) in 2008. By their 2010 release
The Illustrated Garden, the band consisted of
Putnam along with bass player
Be Hussey and drummer Stevie Treichel. In 2013, the band resurfaced with eighth album Eight, with cover art paying tribute to the artwork of
Joni Mitchell's breakthrough album
The Hissing of Summer Lawns. ~ Denise Sullivan