Picking up where the second, eclectic half of
Veterans of Disorder left off, the
Radio Video EP blends dub, hard rock, soul, and beat poetry into stream-of-consciousness pieces that could only be conceived of -- and successfully performed by --
Royal Trux. Applying the focus of later works like Veterans and
Accelerator to their early, free-range experimentalism,
Radio Video kicks off with the dub metal of "The Inside Game" (also included on the High Fidelity soundtrack), which features
Neil Hagerty's fierce vocals and guitars and a spacious, bottom-heavy production -- elements that unite "Mexican Comet"'s fleeting sonic blur and "Victory Chimp: Episode 3"'s rapid-fire, acoustic rambling. Best of all are "Dirty Headlines" and "On My Mind," a pair of vulgar yet dreamy songs melding guest vocalist
Reeta Young's soulful, mournful singing with more tough-talking
Hagerty vocals and backup sneering and sound effects from
Jennifer Herrema. Paranoid, brazen, sexy, and intellectual, the
Radio Video EP proves that few other bands wear their contradictions as well as
Royal Trux.
–
Heather Phares, Rovi