Radiator Hospital | Photo by Rachel Barrish | rachelbarrish.com
Listen to a new split EP from Radiator Hospital and Great Thunder
Split EPs can often feel scatterbrained. They are, after all, recorded by two different bands. But on Wedding Album, a record put together by Great Thunder (featuring Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield and her touring band mate Keith Spencer) and Radiator Hospital, there is no such discontinuity.
The cohesiveness is rather unsurprising, given the amount of collaboration between the two bands. Released on Stupid Bag Records, the record’s first side is technically Great Thunder territory, but Crutchfield and Spencer actually cover two original Radiator Hospital tracks with “Sleeping House” and “Big Cloud.” The latter is one of the record’s highlights — Crutchfield and Spencer provide a shot of punk adrenaline into what was originally a light hearted, playful track. Featuring Waxahatchee’s quintessential driving guitars and Crutchfield’s layered unison vocals, “Big Cloud” would have been right at home on Ivy Tripp.
The second side of Wedding Album is helmed by Sam Cook-Parrott of Radiator Hospital, and although the songs shift slightly toward the Americana rock side of the spectrum, they never feel out of place. Cook-Parrott has a knack for crafting sneaky-good melodies with his silky vocals, and when he’s joined with Crutchfield on “Singer’s No Star,” one of the record’s best tracks, the chemistry between the two is explosive.
Listen to “Big Cloud” below and check out the rest of Wedding Album on Bandcamp.