Eindhoven art punks Radar Men from the Moon have been around since 2010 with a sound that has knitted together space rock, strange electronics and shoegaze flavours with a psychedelic view point. Subversive III: De Spelende Mens, however, is a double album that marks a considerable sonic change, with the band largely dropping the rock elements of their sound, favouring instead a darker electronic approach that charts similar territory to last year’s Death in Vegas Transmission album and The Bug vs Earth Concrete Dessert collaboration. More experimental and less groove-oriented that 2016’s Subversive II: Splendor of the Wicked, Subversive III: De Spelende Mens takes things much further into a bleak, dystopian place.
Sinister electronic-industrial soundscapes predominate on Subversive III, with the oppressive and claustrophobic opener “Secret Howl in Ambient Night” laying out Radar Men from the Moon’s sonic stall from the off. Bubbling motoric grooves and a harsh electronic drone then weave around the more minimalist “Drunk with God” before the band shifts gear for the trancey deep house groove of “Beelenwereld”. “Transgression Cave”, on the other hand, sounds like the workings of a great clockwork musical box, before it launches into the tasty “Spectacle” with its dirty electro groove soaked in garage rock attitude. This only offers a brief snatch of Radar Men from the Moon’s space rock past though, before the listener is immersed in the harsh, ambient 20-minute closer of “Black Canvas Dark Majesty”.
Subversive III: De Spelende Mens is more of a cerebral art piece than the scuzzy electronica-garage rock hybrid of its predecessor, but it does point towards interesting places flavoured with industrial sounds and motoric grooves doused in cinematic vibes. It also suggests that Radar Men from the Moon are unlikely to be running out of momentum or exciting sonic ideas any time soon.
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