Black Bananas - Rad Times Xpress IV Review

The best way that I could describe it is as the soundtrack to an acid trip.

Black Bananas - Rad Times Xpress IV (2012) – 7.4 / 10.0
Drag City Records

Jennifer Herrema is best known for her past work in the band Royal Trux, going as far back as 1988 with its self-titled debut. Personal problems led to Royal Trux's split between members, Herrema and Neil Hagerty. She would go on to create RTX, a project that found moderate success but nowhere near Royal Trux's following. A meeting between Herrema and Drag City owner Dan Koretzky led to the decision of changing RTX's name to Black Bananas to gain new listeners. The name change is merely cosmetic though. Rad Times Xpress IV (RTX IV) possesses the same spirit of RTX, and I doubt the name change will help to commercialize RTX...er...Black Bananas' music. The album is a difficult medley of genres that often clash together and make Animal Collective sound like Nickelback. However, Rad Times Xpress IV is simple in its pleasures, and if you don't listen with preconceived notions of what music "should be", this could be one of your favorite releases of the year.

There have been genre-defying albums before, but Rad Times Xpress IV seems determined on outdoing them all. Beginning as a spaced-out, psychedelic romp, the music transforms into an '80s hair metal revival before morphing once again into a funky, bluesy punk sound. I'm not just referring to the album as a whole either. These changes occur during many of the songs. Herrema is determined to not be tied down by any particular idea, which could be disarming to some listeners. Her vocals are often run through filters, adding to the weirdness of the surrounding music. She may sound robotic in one song and use her natural voice in the next.

The production and clarity behind RTX IV is amazing. If this album were done as lo-fi, I probably would have hated it. The change-ups, genre-hops, sludgy guitars, and guitar riffs are so dynamic that it's sometimes impossible to follow what's going on in a song, but it sounds top notch. RTX IV has some of the most intense guitar riffs that I don't feel timid about labeling the album with a 'Metal' tag. Aside from the guitar work, I particularly enjoyed the squealing saxophone that tears apart in "Overpass". Herrema's confidence comes through in the music. Where it lacks in direction and coherence, it compensates with swagger.

As I said earlier, RTX IV is difficult yet simple. It's an album that's as fun as you let it be. The best way that I could describe it is as the soundtrack to an acid trip. Incidentally, one of the songs is called "Acid Song". So do yourself a favor and drop some RTX IV for a fun freak out.



Purchase: Black Bananas - Rad Times Xpress IV