I'd been a Radio 4 fan for awhile when they played New Orleans. I was lucky enough to strike up a conversation with the lead singer, Anthony, before the show and he asked me afterwards if I knew a place to get a drink (the show was at House of Blues, not known in New Orleans as a late night hang out). I took him to R Bar and then to One Eyed Jacks. Good times. They were on tour for Stealing of a Nation then.
Their follow-up, Enemies Like This, left me a little cold. It wasn't that it was a bad album. Just that their music had moved away from the DFA/disco-punk stuff that I'd really enjoyed from them up to that point.
Their new track, "Quit Hiding", is equally different and divergent. They've been working with The Brothers (who co-produced !!!) and their new sound is somewhere that I guess I would call more 'moderate'(?) I realize that moderate is a vague term. The song is less dancy than their previous stuff, but also less 'rock'. Their production and writing have definitely seen a shift though.
"Quit Hiding" is a bit repetitive and little less in-your-face than previous Radio 4 works and that above all may be dictating my opinion. My gut says 'I don't like it'. But I love the band so maybe I just need to hear more before I drop the guillotine. Next time you guys are in L.A., let's have another beer so I can pick your brains about this new direction! (Oh, and P.J. - if you end up reading this - you still owe me that Faint remix you said you'd send me!! ;-)
On a positive front, the band is releasing "Quit Hiding", along with their forthcoming EP entirely for free from http://www.rcrdlbl.com/ , an mp3 based record label that doesn't charge for downloads. Go download it, and let me know what you think.
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