There’s a wonderful feeling you get when you hear something new and bangarang good. It’s a feeling that’ll slap you in the face, and it’s also one that makes you want to share. Luckily we here on the Song of the Day team have more than a few megawatts to throw behind something we think you’re gonna like. So, for your approval, we bring you Radiator Hospital, an exuberant indie-rock outfit outta Philly that we hope’ll knock you out like it did us.
Radiator Hosptial is the project of Cook-Parrott. He spent some time in songwriter Katie Crutchfield’s band Waxahatchee as bassist, and contributed vocals to the her Cerulean Salt record. Cook-Parrott formed the initial lineup of Radiator Hospital in Michigan before pulling up stakes and heading to Philadelphia. If you happen to drift over to Radiator Hospital’s Bandcamp page, you’ll find recordings stretching back to 2010, ranging from Cook-Parrott’s early, very lo-fi, solo outings to the full band affair of their brand new full-length Something Wild (out now).
One of the best anchor points (and the track that made me stand up and take notice) on Something Wild is the jangling, power-pop-punk of “Our Song.” You’re first belted with Cook-Parrott’s vocals. They’re nasal and untrained (imagine a highly caffeinated Black Francis or Gordon Gano), but they’re completely endearing, like a jittery, slightly nerdy kid that can’t wait to tell you how he’s really feeling deep inside. He spits them with absolute precision in the verses, and opens up in the choruses. Behind him, the band knocks around on quick, razor-like, pop-punk melodies that’ll make you feel like a teenager again. It’s a song that’ll make you stand up and take notice.
