What We’ve Been Listening To: RADICALS

RADICALS unveiled their single “maybe” back in July, taking listeners on a nostalgic journey, blending elements of modern rock with 90s-inspired instrumentation. At the forefront of this landscape are the anthemic vocals of Brandon, whose vocals act as a guiding force, leading through the track’s intricate emotional terrain.

What sets “maybe” apart is the thunderous rhythm section that firmly grounds the blistering guitars, as the robust foundation provides the perfect backdrop for the song’s soaring melody, which showcases RADICALS’ ability to effortlessly shift between dynamics is a testament to their songwriting.

To celebrate the release of the single, RADICALS took part in the latest series of “What We’ve Been Listening To” on Eat This Music.

*this WWBLT was conducted before the release of their newest single “idk”, which you can listen to below.

WHO IS RADICALS AND HOW DID THE NAMESAKE COME ABOUT?

RADICALS is 4 people trying their hardest to make music that isn’t shit. We scrape by on average, and people seem to enjoy it, so we’re living the dream to be honest.

We wanted a short band name and searched “one word band name ideas”. RADICALS popped up and it looked and sounded cool, we didn’t realise at the time that RADICALS is a type of mathematical equation, which is sick.

WHAT ARTISTS OR BANDS ARE ON YOUR MUST-LISTEN TO LIST LATELY AND WHY?

We’ve been listening to a lot of local bands and acts we’ve played with lately. Deadshowws, Tyrants, The Polymics and Major Arcana are some of our favourites at the moment. We’ve always listened to what’s cool and big around the world but once you go to shows and see these up and coming bands you realise just how much good music is right in your city. Go to shows!!!

WHEN YOU GO INTO THE RECORDING STUDIO TO WORK ON NEW MATERIAL, WHAT ARE YOUR MUST-HAVES?

Our instruments and half written songs. We’ve never actually gone into the studio with a finished song. It’s dumb and we should probably fix that, but it has done us alright so far. Brandon usually doesn’t even have lyrics together. Something that’s always nice in the studio is dogs. At Def Wolf Studios your sometimes lucky enough to have Neve in for the session. She’s the best.

WHICH SONG, OR SONGS, OF YOURS WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO A FIRST-TIME LISTENER AND WHY?

It all depends on what the person likes listening to. If it’s alt rock, then listen to ‘falling faster slowly’, if it’s punk, listen to ‘gorilla in the coupe’, if its grunge, listen to ‘i hate myself’, if its shoegaze, listen to ‘one night in russia’. We like to think all our songs have their own bits and pieces that are fun to listen to. There’s something for everyone!

WHICH SONG OF SOMEONE ELSE’S (ARTIST OR BAND) WOULD YOU HAVE LIKED TO FEATURE ON AND WHY?

Any song by our heroes like Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, Silverchair or the Vines. Would we sound good on any of them? Hell no, but we’d die happy and be massive after it.

WHAT LED YOU INTO BECOMING A MUSICIAN(S) AND WHY DO YOU KEEP MAKING MUSIC?

There’s no better feeling in the world than being on stage. All those negative feelings seem to fade away. When we play shows and people are singing our lyrics it doesn’t get any better than that. As long as 1 person likes our music then we’ll keep sticking around.