Radiation City

Radiation City
Radiation City in March 2013 at Treefort Music Festival in Boise, Idaho
Background information
Origin	Portland, Oregon, United States
Genres	Indie rock
Years active	2010 (2010)-2016
Labels	Tender Loving Empire, Apes Tapes, Polyvinyl Record Co.
Members	Cameron Spies Elisabeth Ellison Randy Bemrose Matt Rafferty Patti King
Website	www.radiationcity.net

Radiation City was an American indie rock band that began in Portland, Oregon, in 2010.^[1][2] The band consisted of Cameron Spies (guitar, vocals), Elisabeth Ellison (vocals, keyboards), Randy Bemrose (drums, vocals), Matt Rafferty (bass, vocals), and Patti King (vocals, keys, bass). There were two couples in the band.^[1][3][4] The band released four albums: Cool Nightmare, The Hands That Take You, Animals in the Median, and Synesthetica.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]} The band was signed to the Polyvinyl Record Co. label.^{[15][16][17][18]}

History

Radiation City was initially composed of Lizzy Ellison and her boyfriend Cameron Spies, adding drummer Randy Bemrose for their second show, and bassist Matt Rafferty for their third.^[6] Their debut album The Hands That Take You was originally released in February 2011 on Ellison and Spies own cassette-only label Apes Tapes. After garnering interest through their live shows, they were picked up by the record label Tender Loving Empire and the album was re-released nationally on September 27, 2011.^[16] Time called this debut release "charmingly evocative".^[2] After the addition of multi-instrumentalist Patti King they followed their debut up with the Cool Nightmare EP released on April 10, 2012.^[19] A music video was recorded for the song "Find it of Use" from this release.^[19] Their second full-length album, Animals in the Median was released on May 21, 2013 to positive reviews.^{[7][8][11][12][13]} In 2015, Radiation City signed to Polyvinyl Record Co. and announced their third full-length album, Synesthetica. The album was released on February 12, 2016.^[20]

The band broke up in November 2016.^[21]

On June 22, 2018, the band released a final 6-track EP titled Coda.^[21]

A post to the band's Instagram page on January 23, 2024 announced a reunion show, to be played at Mississippi Studios on June 21, 2024.^[22]

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Title	Label
2011	The Hands That Take You	Tender Loving Empire
2013	Animals In the Median
2016	Synesthetica	Polyvinyl Record Co.

Extended plays

Year	Title	Label
2012	Cool Nightmare	Tender Loving Empire
2018	Coda	Polyvinyl Record Co.

References

1. Jarman, Casey. "Portland Best New Band 2012". Willamette Week. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
2. Locker, Melissa (7 August 2012). "11 Great Bands You Don't Know (But Should)". Time. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
3. "RADIATION CITY : PORTLAND BAND BIO". The Rainy Day Show. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
4. Dozois, Tom. "Our interview with Radiation City: "Dudes' periods don't always do duets like dudettes' do, do they?"". Syffal. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
5. Bartolini, Christiana. "Radiation City - Cool Nightmare EP:: Indie Shuffle Music Blog". Retrieved 6 June 2013.
6. Orr, Dacey. "Album Stream: Radiation City - The Hands That Take You". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
7. Penning, Christa. "Album Review: Radiation City's Animals in the Median". Vox Magazine. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
8. Young, Jon. "Review: Radiation City's "Animals in the Median"". Mother Jones. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
9. Petersen, Jeremy. "Studio Session: Radiation City 2013". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
10. "'Foreign Bodies' by Radiation City - Free MP3". Rolling Stone. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
11. Chandler, John. "Review: Radiation City's 'Animals in the Median'". Portland Monthly Magazine. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
12. Parker, Sheehan. "Album Review: Radiation City – "Animals in the Median"". UCLA Radio. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
13. Graham, William. "Animals in the Median Radiation City, your past, present & future – on cassette!". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
14. "Synesthetica by Radiation City". Metacritic.
15. "Radiation City sign to Polyvinyl, new album coming in February". 12 November 2015.
16. Ham, Robert. "Radiation City Joins Forces With Tender Loving Empire (w/ Q&A)". Willamette Week. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
17. Young, Chris. "Tender Loving Empire helps Radiation City raise 'The Hands That Take You'". Oregon Music News. Archived from the original on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
18. Comingore, Aly. "Up Close with Radiation City". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
19. Cochran, Miles (March 30, 2012). "Portland indie-rockers Radiation City ready new EP; return to Arcata Saturday". Tri-City Weekly. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
20. Roberts, Christopher. "Radiation City Sign to Polyvinyl, Announce New Album, and Share "Juicy"". Under the Radar. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
21. "Radiation City / Bandcamp". Bandcamp. Retrieved 2018-06-29. Radiation City formed in 2010 and ended in November of 2016...
22. @radiationcity (2024-01-23). "We'll be playing at our favorite spot in town @mississippistudios with other guests TBA, on June 21st" – via Instagram.

External links

• Official website
• Radiation City at AllMusic