Horrid Red Radiant Life LP
With their fourth LP, San Francisco’s HORRID RED marks a decade doing something important: sounding different. Mixing melody and shimmering guitar with abrasive vocals, ex-DER TPK helmer Bunker Wolf takes the electro-intimacy of KRAFTWERK’s Computer World and brazenly riffs over it in an unfaltering German-language torrent. On some tracks, like “Pity the Sun,” this can be more awkward than interesting, where the programmed drums draw attention to themselves in a way that doesn’t serve the tune. But on “Omitted Prophets” or the inspired title track “Radiant Life,” it totally clicks for me. A slow-burner that’s not Krautrock, not typical post-punk, and not for everyone, but that’s OK.