Jonathan Rado – Law And Order

’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and Today

Did Jonathan Rado turn to making a solo album after Sam France, the other half of his duo Foxygen, broke his leg on stage this summer? Well, no—he released the single “Faces” a couple weeks before the big fall, but it probably helped to free up some of his time. And after listening to his debut album, it’s not surprising that Rado is a big fan of Tim Presley’s musical project White Fence. They have similar qualities: the fact that they’re both, for the most part, one-man bands; they both heavily experiment with all kinds of sounds; and there’s a lot of fuzz.  And with help from Presley himself, Rado recorded Law And Order in a small New York apartment and also at his parents’ house in Los Angeles and released it on Woodsist Records.

“Looking 4a Girl Like U” is a fine example of said noise and fuzz. Rado’s vocals are high-pitched and so distorted that sometimes he sounds like a guitar. Even for fans of distortion and noise, the track may be a little too long and borderline annoying. “I Wood” might be a better track to recommend. But “Looking 4a” is a bit of a surprise, as it follows opening tracks “Seven Horses” and “Hand in Mine,” which embrace the groovy-ness of the ’60s with catchy pop melodies.

“I Wanna Feel it Now!!!” hits hard, coming after the slow ballad “All the Lights Went Out in Georgia.” The three exclamation points properly describe the song: loud, fast, ton of reverb and guitar chords bouncing all over the place with Rado repeatedly exclaiming, “I wanna feel it now!” amidst the organized chaos.

While Law & Order is a great television show, Rado’s album isn’t named after it; instead, the name was borrowed from Fleetwood Mac songwriter Lindsey Buckingham’s first solo album, also titled Law and Order. Some might say there’s too much of a wide range of sound, but there are plenty of gems on this album.