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The debut album from Squint Entertainment’s newest band, Radial Angel, hit store shelves March 11th, and while not many may be aware of the group, rock fans should definitely consider checking the album out. The band has had great independent success, so it comes as no surprise that they’ve finally been picked up by a label.

One More Last Time, ventures through some well written [but bold] lyrics discussing topics from God and future wives to suicide and rapists. Then throw these lyrics into captivating music, sung by rich sounding (almost Creed-like) vocals, and you’ve got yourself a winner. And don’t let the cover of the album fool you, this isn’t a hard rock album by any means. It’s a great, straight rock album that even has its acoustic moments. 

Radial Angel sort of crept up behind me, tapped me on the shoulder, and said, “Boo.” Their debut album may have come as a bit of a surprise, but it sure is a strong one, and definitely gives you a feeling of what they are trying to say to the world. You can tell they have a gift, and they seem to be using it quite well.

Josh McConnell  03/23/03

Rarely does an album fall into the hands of this reviewer that he considers to be perfect. The average record is a product of pros and cons, an unbalanced bag that often has its fair share of ugly bombs and true gems. Sometimes the strengths are so bright that the weaknesses can barely be seen. Other times the music is so blemished that a streak of talent or creativity is hard to spot.

Perhaps the most frustrating albums are those that have just enough cons to negate the pros and make the music skippable. Such is the case with _One More Last Time_, the Squint debut of new band Radial Angel. The quartet’s fiery passion, contagious energy, and real-life honesty come just short of making their passé sound and amateurish lyrics forgivable.

Technically, the band ain’t bad. The scorching guitar work from Jeremy Dolezel and frontman Jared Taber is the album’s greatest strength, lacing these tens songs with memorably flashy solos and blistering power chords. Alas, despite solid musicianship, the sonic space inhabited by Radial Angel is a bit too similar to that inhabited by Creed and their legions of clones. The fact that Taber’s gruff voice sounds similar to Scott Stapp doesn’t help matters.

“Untitled” makes a fine example of the critical dilemma that I face when trying to evaluate this band. On the one hand, it makes fine entertainment, and fans (especially teens) of Creed’s sound will likely find it irresistible. Then again, it’s hard to heap praises upon such a cliché, been-there-done-that sound. Sigh.

As far as tired sounds that are past their expiration date go, however, this band sure is fun. Just sample the seering blast of energy that is opener “Give,” or the alternating acoustic/electric guitar tapestry of “She,” a song of longing for Taber’s future wife.

That brings us to the lyrics, which were mostly written by Taber, with a little help from his bandmates on a few cuts.  With themes such as rape, purity, and suicide, it must be said that Radial Angel have an unflinching honesty. And that’s good. But they tend to approach these topics with little subtlety or sense of poetry. And that’s not so good. Repetition of overly-simple lines like “oh just give it up to/ oh, just give it up to Him,” could stand for some reworking.

Oh well. Hopefully the band will mature and experiment a little more on their next outing. If there’s one thing that One More Last Time proves, it’s that these guys are perfectly capable of serving up hot dishes of high-volume, intense rock. Let’s hope album #2 finds them holding on to that strength while also exploring a fresher sound and writing more intelligent songs.

Josh Hurst 3/25/2003