Friday, 4 September 2015

Tacoma Radar


They were the Scottish Galaxie 500: songs like unsolved puzzles played precisely with a distinct mood.

There were just 2 singles in 2000-2001 and then a wait - Tacoma Radar were never in much of a hurry - until 2004 for the No One Waved Goodbye album.

Songs like Falling Dead Stars and Who's Gonna Hold The Line capture the outsider's alienation and mystique. Vocals are half-whispered, murmured guitars rise into loud surges before burrowing home again.

Maybe if they were American they'd have been part of the slowcore scene and there'd be a deluxe reissue. What was it they said? Loneliness Comes Without A Sound.

Tacoma Radar had a low profile. They were on Andmoresound, who didn't put a foot wrong. Labelmates Camera Obscura's first two singles were (wrongly) either ignored or dismissed as a band for Belle and Sebastian fans who thought Belle and Sebastian weren't indie enough any more.

Mac Meda's cut'n'paste sonic adventures over 2 singles got a bit more attention. Rightly so, because they were ace. Andmoresound was quite a label. Nothing fitted together - there was no label sound, just a mark of high quality. I wish they'd found more bands.

If you haven't found Tacoma Radar before, you're in for a treat. No One Waved Goodbye is a lost classic.
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7 comments:

  1. Andy5 September 2015 at 23:07

    Agreed! The album is a gem! I wish I had more Tacoma Radar to listen to!

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  2. Azure8 November 2015 at 17:47

    First of all, congratulations for owning this on vinyl. I have to ask; where did you find it?
    Also, I want to upload this version to discogs. Would you mind telling me which songs are on which sides of the LP? Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Ben4 December 2015 at 17:45

      The track listing is the same order as the CD - the first song on side 2 is Left Unsaid. I bought it when it came out, I think from Selectadisc on Berwick St, but possibly Rough Trade in Notting HIll.

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  3. Hi I'm Graham22 February 2020 at 10:35

    I found this CD rifling through my local college radio station's CD collection. I don't think I would have stumbled into this amazing album any other way, I'm immensely glad I did.

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  4. Andy H.26 October 2020 at 11:37

    Thank you for writing about this, Ben. Really appreciate your kind words about the album. And congrats on your blog, it's a great read.

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  5. Unknown9 January 2022 at 07:42

    I´m listening to their album right now and I think it´s really great. Sad they didn´t make more records.

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  6. Anonymous16 February 2022 at 04:10

    loved seeing this, they deserved so much more than they got. although, it seems in recent theyve been seeing a little more attention then they have in a while, so who knows.

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