Radial- Falling Off the Edge of Sanity

Last Updated on Monday, 18 June 2007 20:11 Written by Shaun Phelps

Artist: [Radial]
CD Title: [Falling Off the Edge of Sanity]
Label: [Self-Released]
Reviewer: [ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ]
Date: [01-02-2006]

Radial is the project of Matt Bambach, a native of New York and no stranger to the noise scene. Falling Off the Edge of Sanity serves as Radial’s second full-length release, and doubles as an almost “best of,” collecting tracks from various cassette and CD-r recordings from as early as 1999.

There are two things about the music of Radial that have always appealed to me. First is his ability to take extremely uncomfortable sounds and make them listenable and addictive. Second is his ruthless layering technique. One by one, new sounds and rhythms are introduced, building into a frenzy of percussive motion. By the end of songs like “Eurphoria” and “Untitled” I’m in a state of mental exhaustion.

While the new tracks on Falling Off the Edge of Sanity show Bambach taking a more ambient and minimalistic direction, the high-pitched and defiantly uncomfortable sounds are still there. Bambach’s ability to manipulate and mold his music has evolved into a purposeful, crisp, and almost corporeal form. Some of the sounds are so tangible, in fact, they take on near-physical manifestations. For example, I can feel the glitches of “Shed a Tear” tingling and popping in my spine.

Radial’s Falling Off the Edge of Sanity is a wonderful collection of tracks from impossibly hard to find cassettes and CD-r’s, and a seductive peek into Bambach’s newer work. This compilation is a great starting point for new listeners, and a blessing for long-time fans.