Pistol Disco
Radiation
Celebrity Lifestyle Records
Our dear editor-in-chief Avi, who is far more learned in this genre than I, jokingly accused Pistol Disco of selling out by adding beats to their no-wave noise approach during an mp3 posting of his. To those of you who truly do feel that Pistol Disco have forsaken themselves by adding danceable beats to a number of their up-tempo compositions, I have no idea what to buy you for Christmas! While unfamiliar with bands such as this Göteborg duo, it was the drum beats, shifting chords, and sense of direction that drew me into "Radiation". Sounding like Wire or "Warsaw"-era Joy Division cranked to eleven, blasted through wrecked club speakers on a night where I already know there's no way I'm making it home, tracks like "Walking with Jesus" and "Upside down" easily converted me to Pistol Disco's manipulated waves of distortion. Though there's also a softer side to this record, with "Sweetheart" and "Air" having been steadfast companions during peaceful evenings spent writing on my balcony; their fluid transition into closing tack "The sunshine underground" ending the record on a powerful and convincing note. While I am an admitted newbie to the noise genre and have no knowledge of the 'similar bands' that appear on Pistol Disco's last.fm page, "Radiation" has been a fun and interesting record to break my teeth on, and to come to enjoy.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
