Radial Spangle never got their dues. The band, who originally formed as a trio, from Oklahoma, made music that was forever pitched somewhere between the dreamy distraction of shoegazing and waywardnes of neo-psychedelia. Such was the early nineties, and they were, after all, friends with Mercury Rev and Flaming Lips.
The session they recorded for John Peel, broadcast on July 20th, 1993 has perfect indie psych-pop in ‘Birthday ‘, wistful, wispy beauty in ‘Snow’, and churning postrock in ‘Turpentine’. April Tippens’ girlish vocals could sour, as with Babes In Toyland’s Kat Bjelland, marking the capricious contrasts in the music.
They never quite scaled the heights, probably because they weren’t niche enough. But this Peel Session ranks among one of the nineties’ ‘finest. And ‘Snow’ would be Xmas No. 1 in a sane world.
Hit The North 