Brave Radar

With a full-length out early last year and another just around the corner, Brave Radar have dropped some mid-album action with the Ultramarine EP, a seven-track, 13-minute burst of loose lo-fi pop. In some ways, this release picks up where the Montreal outfit's debut, Distracting Stranger, left off, further expanding on the innocent sophistication of the Softies and Beat Happening with soft-voiced boy-girl harmonies, jangling guitar lines and homespun tape hiss. However, this time Brave Radar have also taken their sound a little more left-of-centre and injected it with a dose of freeform avant-pop weirdness (think Tori Kudo's Maher Shalal Hash Baz). At times, this makes for some forgettable moments, such as the awkwardly paced "Beast" and "Coffee." But most often Brave Radar get it right, holding together the loose, offbeat structures with just enough hooks, like on clear standout "Sternwall." Ultramarine is by no means perfect but does make Brave Radar's upcoming album worth looking forward to.