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Radio Junkies

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August 2002 Rock Pop Alternative

Written by Joe Hartlaub

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9.0

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Artist: Radio Junkies
Title: Volume 1
Label: Self-Released

Radio Junkies is the project, basically, of brothers Adam and Michael Scharff. Brother teams in rock aren't all that uncommon --- The Davies, The Maels, the Robinsons, and the Finns are but a few examples --- though the Brothers Scharff' relationship seems a bit more harmonious than the examples I've noted, if their music is any example. VOLUME 1 consists of music more jangly than edgy.

The optimistically titled VOLUME 1 consists of ten tracks clocking in at just over 33 minutes, but the tracks are certainly fully realized, and one does not have the impression of anything being half-formed. There really aren't any bad tracks on here, but there are two that are particular standouts."All Good" kind of reminds me of Adam Carolla's "King" skit on The Man Show, set to music and without the off-color absurdity. There's a late '60s pop mentality to it, stylistically, with nothing supercomplicated or anything here, just some light harmonies over a McGuinn-meets-Harrison guitar riff. The other is an ambitious tune entitled "Scary (Christopher Walken)" a quasi-novelty song about a guy who is experiencing apparent hallucinations of Christopher Walken in unlikely places, and which, improbably, is kinda cool. It delves into They Might Be Giants territory, without the collar-button nerdiness (though they do flirt with that). With respect to the remaining tracks, Radio Junkies throw a little something into each track just to keep things from becoming too uniform. This isn't done haphazardly, however. "Crazy for Her, " for instance, includes an ill-advised rap in the middle, which somehow, in the midst of the acoustic and electric guitars, and high, breathy harmonies, improbably, miraculously works.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about VOLUME 1 is that it demonstrates the Radio Junkies' ability to craft simple, catchy, pop songs with familiar arrangements and just enough change-ups to avoid sounding repetitious. The "Scary" track is attracting some attention nationally, due to its inclusion on a radio sampler. Fans of that song will hopefully hunt the band down, see what else is happening with them, and generate enough interest in the Radio Junkies for a Volume 2.

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