Girl at the Rock Shows

I fell in love when I heard “Formulaic” from The Radiant. When I reviewed “Art Kidz” from The Radiant, I fell deeper in love. When I had the chance to interview the band, I fell head over heels for this band. Long story short, I quickly became obsessed with The Radiant, so when they emailed me that their first full-length album was out, I felt butterflies in my heart. I was so excited to see how songs like “Formulaic” and “Art Kidz” would fit on a full album, and I was stoked to hear more from this Saskatoon, SK-based band.

‘Table 3’ starts with “Art Kidz.” Since I’ve already reviewed this particular track, I’ll keep this brief, but, long story short, what a perfect way to kick off this album. “Art Kidz,” as I previously mentioned, is a song about staying true to yourself. It’s about knowing your worth and doing everything you do with a sense of heart while simultaneously not stomping on that worth. I love that The Radiant chose this song to open ‘Table 3’ because it lays out their raw yet perfectly polished sound and gets you in a headspace where you can really let their slightly emotional and overly powerful lyrics sink in.

Second on the album is “Formulaic,” that fateful single that started my relationship with this band. I’ll be honest; it has been a hot minute since I had heard this song, but as soon as it started playing, I remembered why this was the single that caught me. It’s not particularly heavy or angsty, yet it hits you like a ton of bricks. There’s something smoky, almost sultry, about the vocals that kick this song off, but as the song grows, you hear the vocals and instrumentation evolve into something powerful and something that refuses to be ignored. It’s far from “Formulaic,” making it the kind of single that grabs you and pulls you into The Radiant’s world so perfectly.

“Cherry Blossom” has a very light and airy intro to it, but don’t let that fool you. This song is full of as much energy as the previous tracks, but it seems to take a different form. A slow and steady song that will fill your heart with a sense of love, the beauty of this song seems to mirror the title. Call me crazy, but something about “Cherry Blossom” just feels and sounds so calming and almost zen-like. This song’s slow and intentional beat makes sure that you have time to let every note and word soak right into your soul while The Radiant’s signature warmth covers you. Although it’s a Sunday morning, and I’m in the mood for music that motivates me to get stuff done around the house, the three-and-a-half minutes of pure bliss that this track gave me was pure bliss.

Just as I was getting super cozy with “Cherry Blossom,” The Radiant flips the switch and hits you hard with “Cherry Cola.” Okay, maybe “hits you hard” is a bit of a dramatization, but it definitely has a bit more aggression behind it, giving the album a clear sense of movement that makes this album, as a whole, an unforgettable ride. I love this song’s almost thrashy and grungey aspect, and it instantly became a favorite of mine. I feel like this is the first song on this album where you hear the band toy with a more progressive rock vibe. At the same time, you still get the highly emotionally charged lyrics and almost lush soundscape that The Radiant seems to do with ease. These things combine to make “Cherry Cola” a stand-out track.

“Neapolitan” kicks off with a groove that instantly gets stuck in your head. It has a slight funk influence behind it, but maybe I’m just saying that because of the prominent bass line. Either way, I love this groove and slight swagger that shows yet another side of this versatile band. For some reason, I want to say that this song has some Queens of the Stone Age influence to it. Although the vocals come through crystal clear like the rest of this album, there’s a grit to them that gave me a bit more aggression than I had heard in the previous tracks, and I loved it. This heavy song will make you want to raise your fist and stomp your foot a bit.

At just a couple of seconds over six minutes, “Soft Serve” is the longest track on this album, but the sheer amount of passion and fire that comes through with every passing beat makes this song fly by. There’s something a bit classic and timeless when it comes to the style of this song. It’s something that can be heard in some of the previous tracks, but something about this one just seems to have a bit more of that timeless quality behind it. It’s an epic piece of art that will take you on a mini-journey during the journey that this album, as a whole, is already taking you on. As this song played, I could feel my mind wander and drift all the while the music of The Radiant stayed in the forefront of my mind. This is all just a testament to the power of this band, so if you have a couple of minutes to spare but now enough to dedicate to this album as a whole, I highly suggest checking “Soft Serve” out.

From the longest track on the album to the shortest, the second to the last track on ‘Table 3’ is “Interlude.” As the title suggests, this one-minute and five-second track is just an instrumental “Interlude” and, after the epic journey that was “Soft Serve,” is the perfect palate cleanser before the band finishes up this album with “Retreat.” Instead of ending ‘Table 3’ with a super triumphant and boisterous track, The Radiant closes it with a song that, again, gets you lost in your own mind. With spaced-out vocals and time to breathe in the instrumentation, I love how this song almost urges you to move forward with your day with a bit more patience, a bit more love, and a whole lot more heart. Although I feel like “Retreat” wraps up this album beautifully, I love how it leaves you wanting more from this band.

‘Table 3’ is the first full-length album from The Radiant. It’s a heavy-hitting album that plays with sound and space in such a gorgeous place. It has swagger, it has angst, it has beauty, it has emotion– it has it all. It is definitely one of those albums that can be listened to time and time again, with new things to discover in each listening session.

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