Radford - Sleepwalker

Radford’s Sleepwalker embellishes the mainstream rock song structure with some programming and keyboard elements that instill a somewhat refreshing quality to an otherwise average guitar album; the lyrics at times have a similar feel. For example, in “Dead Heart” the lyrics begin: “From the back seat of a stolen car, to the back door of a sleazy bar” and later on continue, “From the front room of a penthouse, to the bedroom of a whore house.” This is a great angle to take for the post-highschool Rock audience; the drunken triviality of such lyrics isn’t intended to be reflexive, intelligent, or clever. It’s completely situational and contradictory to current Rock-radio trends. However, most other songs take the standard and much less interesting route; the album suffers from predictability and ultimately bland prose. Had the sarcastic approach been further explored (as opposed to the “I am in pain, and this is why” angle) it could have been much more interesting. It is a slight tangent to music you’ve already heard, and as a tangent it is quite enjoyable, but it’s still just music that you’ve heard already. [www.radfordmusic.net]