New Radar

Edmonton, Canada’s Calvin Love describes his music as “electronic garage pop,” which seems fitting upon hearing his 2012 solo debut album, New Radar. The lo-fi opener, “Konica,” resonates with a healthy balance of DIY and innovation. Love sings in a demure tenor over primitive drum-machine simplicity while new wave synths are muted by the tape hiss of an antiquated four-track. Having played in punk bands since the dawn of his teenage years, Love did indeed record these songs in motel rooms, bus stations, and his bedroom studio while touring with various projects. “Destroyer” shows his penchant for collaging sounds and textures to create hushed-pop masterpieces on par with Ariel Pink's. Here he lets the slide guitar’s melody travel to places that his near-monotone voice can’t reach. In “Magic Hearts,” he throws some Speak & Spell–sounding effects on his voice. It sounds more interesting than the current trend to over-tweak Auto-Tune, and it fits perfectly with the rough edges of his scratchy four-track resonance.