artist Radius And Helena

After over two years in the making, the debut album from Toronto rockers Radius&Helena is almost upon us. Shake and tremble my friends, it is a monster-terrible and big- and it is coming. Mixed by Ian Sattler and mastered by Jon Drew (Tokyo Police Club, Magneta Lane), it is an album of rare depth and scope, the like little seen in these modern times. Truly, we kid you not.

Radius and Helena pride themselves on being able to tell a good story. Ryan Fairley (guitar, vocals, keys), Steve Kwok (drums), Denise Sumandl (bass, guitar, keys) and Christopher Felske (vocals, guitar, keys) explain their music as being "vintage sci-fi indie rock." Their influences include Blonde Redhead and Sonic Youth, deriving a love of ardent melodic patterns from the former and a taste of the experimental from the latter. Old David Bowie 'space sounds' inspire some of the more sci-fi touches. The result is infectious. Their driven episodes are dragged through a torrent of dark corridors and plot twists. Eye Weekly describes them thus: "This discordant yet blissful psychedelic art-pop band create meandering epics that are bold, lush and thought provoking."

They sing about the ends of the Earth, and about high fashion. They sing about the rising trends in western litigation. Throughout, they set strange moods and dish out a smart mouthful of social satire. Radius and Helena deliver their name-a name with visionary ties unto itself. A still from a 1920 Czechoslovakian play by Carel Capek shows a woman being scorned by an automaton. These principal players of "Rossum's Universal Robots" embodied the polemic duality at the heart of all their songwriting. "Commodore" invades you with all the tension of the cold war era amidst gyroscopic bass and concussion drums. The band is loud, incredibly loud, but if the audience has blood pouring from their ears, they have smiles on their faces.

This Toronto quartet has plenty to crow about. Since their first appearance in June 2004 at the Silver Dollar, they've been stirring up a scene. Accolades include showcases for Pitter Patter, Wavelength, Canadian Music Week (05, 07, 08), the increasingly popular No Shame series,and 102.1 The Edge's NuMusic Nite with Dave Bookman to name a few. Radius&Helena have incited a loyal base of dazed onlookers wherever they go. Look for their debut album this fall.