The members of Vancouver-based band Radio Berlin know what they're doing.
The band has been around since 1998 - any band that gets to blow out five candles on its birthday is a novelty anymore - and on the latest CD, Glass, it's obvious that the group has been working toward a vision.
That vision, though, is kind of hard to define. The Web site for Radio Berlin describes the band as rhythmic post-punk combined with new wave. Let's just be honest and say that I have no idea what those terms mean, and that description of genre crossbreeding doesn't bring any particular sound to mind.
So instead, let's talk about the Legendary Pink Dots and David Byrne. Think about the semi-whiney, nearly-spoken vocal stylings of the Dots singer Edward KaSpel, but add in the energy and sensibility of early Byrne. Is that helping any?
Radio Berlin seems to always know when a riff should end, and that's no small feat when repetition is a major component of songwriting. Also, this band is interesting sonically, using sounds that are unabashedly electronic. The effects on track four, "The Hyphen," get really close to sounding like something off early Galaga or the first Super Mario Bros.
The results are fun - a steady-four beat, interesting spaces, minimalist choices and sound effects that will possibly illicit memories of fierce Mario Kart tournaments with your little brother.
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Here's the key to listening to this album: ignore the lyrics.
Even the most forgiving fan might have their enthusiasm numbed a bit when the pretentious words delivered by the pretentious singer in the pretentious faux accent exit the headphones. Like a noxious gas in an airtight room, you almost can't escape it.
But luckily, the band lets in a little fresh air with really innovative work and killer arrangement skills.
"Knives," the second to last track on the album, really brings this weird genius home. The song modulates from major to minor and from key to key. But the real surprise is when all these elements are played together in the choruses, with a piano part holding down one modal scale and the rest of the band functioning in another. At the end of "Knives," the whole thing modulates one final time, the cacophony establishing itself firmly in one riff.
So what, right? So what if this band can make a big ol' mess of things and then bring it back together. Lots of bands do that, and they're not even trying.
What's significant about these avante garde choices is, well for one, they actually are choices, not horrible accidents. Also, Radio Berlin makes them work. These songs, aside from the last one "How Fast Can You Run," all qualify as pop music.
I don't care what label you want to slap on it, this is genuinely groundbreaking pop songwriting.
The Who, When and Where
Who: Radio Berlin
When: Thursday Dec. 11, 10 p.m.
Price: Free
Where: Burt's Tiki Lounge
313 Gold Ave. SW
Tickets and info: 247-2878
www.Radio-Berlin.com
