Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Radium88, from what I am able to determine, is a British aggregation which is fairly popular on the underground club circuit, though I wouldn't necessarily call anything on ONLY SCIENCE CAN TELL US THE TRUTH, their latest release, dance music. I will also readily confess that my ability to differentiate amongst the myriad styles that come under the heading of electronica (or is electronica one of those styles? I am so old and out of it). A friend of mine who actually likes and buys and listens to this type of thing calls it “space music;” I would call it “ambient,” though I don't think it quite fits the definition, and garage in others (“The Man Who Invented Himself”, but again, I have a better idea than most adults, and much less than your average 20 year old club diva). The closest I get to a dance club is when I wander through the French Quarter hear (from the sidewalk, heh heh) whatever happens to be playing at OZ; this strikes me as more classical, more inclined to put one at rest than to stir one’s heart or loins.

The overall mood of ONLY SCIENCE CAN TELL US THE TRUTH is one of restful tension, if that makes any sense. It’s the type of music I would pick if I were going to make a serious attempt at suicide. I am not being snide or critical here; it is restful, and if one is going to have a choice about the last thing one hears, I'd certainly prefer this to something lively, like Iggy Pop, or some enviro-nazi thanking me for not wasting any more of her precious resources. This is the type of listening experience that does not require much effort, other than to let it envelop you in its aural embrace and keep you in its mood long after the last track ends. I doubt you'll have a particular favorite among the 16 tracks on ONLY SCIENCE CAN TELL US THE TRUTH, but you won't have a track you'll particularly despise, either.

I'm of the belief that at every well-rounded music collection needs something like ONLY SCIENCE CAN TELL US THE TRUTH, so have at it. I bet you, and I, will play it more often than we might think.