Radiation City

Radiation City, a Portland-based indie pop quartet, blends doo wop, girl groups, and classic pop and rock influences with male and female vocals plus electronic accents, yielding a style that balances nostalgic and progressive qualities. The group chose its name to evoke tracks that might emerge from the ruins of a future dystopia and formed in 2010 when organist Elisabeth Ellison and guitarist Cameron Spies began collaborating. The pair, who share lead vocal duties, had previously performed together in Soap Collectors and Spesus Christ while running the D.I.Y. cassette tape label Apes Tapes. Drummer Randy Bemrose joined late in 2010, and bassist Matt Rafferty came aboard early the next year. Their debut full-length, The Hands That Take You, appeared shortly afterward on Apes Tapes and received wider distribution that fall via Tender Loving Empire.

In May 2012 a Willamette Weekly poll named the band Best New Band and labeled its sound “Jetsons-era doo wop.” Sophomore release Animals in the Median arrived in 2013, showcasing a refined approach and the addition of multi-instrumentalist Patti King. A remix collection titled Different Animal followed quickly, with producer G_Force reworking tracks and enlisting an array of R&B vocalists and rappers. Internal strains soon surfaced as couples faced difficulties and creative differences emerged, leaving the band’s future uncertain. Ellison and Spies nevertheless continued after songwriting sessions restored their earlier effortless rapport. Taking half the lineup with them, they tracked the new material with producer John Vanderslice in San Francisco before finishing the recordings in Portland with Jeremy Sherrer. The resulting sound retained their jet-set doo wop foundation while folding in sleek modern R&B and pop elements. Polyvinyl issued the completed album, Synesthetica, in early 2016.