Kevin Bronson on December 6th, 2012

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Jim Putnam is no stranger to loud, dynamic music – he was once in popgazers Medicine, who were known to turn things up to 11, after all – but his music as Radar Brothers has been known for its nuance and narrative. The Silver Lake veteran stretches out on “Eight” (due Jan. 29 from Merge, as an LP and CD in one package), road-tripping with bandmates Be Hussey, Stevie Treichel, Dan Iead, Ethan Walter, Brian Cleary and Jim Bowers to the broad psychedelic horizons that previous Radar Brothers’ snapshots only suggested. Maybe it’s the layered, dual keyboards of Cleary and Walter, or the choral vocals, but the first single “If We Were Banished” cries out for one of those fancy light shows this working-class band has never had.

||| Download: “If We Were Banished”

||| Live: Radar Brothers play the Echo on Feb. 2.

Photo by Joseph Armario