Spectreview: Operators – Radiant Dawn
Released: May 17, 2019
Synth Pop
Indie Pop
Electronic
-PURPLE-
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Operators, a band led by Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner, makes über-catchy synth pop in the same vein as classically passionate indie bands like Arcade Fire and The War of Drugs, big messages about big problems with the world. The difference is that Boeckner’s band hasn’t hit those bands’ level of widespread notoriety that would end up diluting the message. Radiant Dawn, the band’s third album, doesn’t sound too different from their previous releases, but there’s a subtle change in spirit, a interest in sprawling out and exploring, if not new territory, a vaster amount of land. Of the album’s 14 tracks, 5 are short palate-cleansers, maybe a little excessive but certainly appreciated for continuity’s sake. Songs like “Faithless,” with its up-tempo pulse and New Order-like synth hook, and ebullient closer “Low Life” let the band stretch out just a little bit more, and the effect makes for altogether more complex (and more satisfying) arrangements. Boeckner’s lyrics, for the most part, have remained world-weary: excoriations of lives lived on social media (“Days”) and lamentations of faceless, endlessly-morphing cities (“Terminal Beach”). Indeed, most of the songs on Radiant Dawn are aware of an imminent dystopian future, and the upside rests only in the comparative optimism of the music surrounding the words. It might not uplift your heart, but it’ll certainly get your toes tapping.
Recommended for watching videos of trashed beaches in India.
Lives in Seattle, terrible diet, loves music, has hope for people