Restraining Bolt

Radish: Ben Kweller (vocals, guitar); Bryan Blur (vocals, bass); John Kent (vocals, drums).
Producers: Roger Greenawalt, Sean Slade, Paul Q. Kolderie.
Recorded at Sheffield Studios, Baltimore, Maryland and Fort Apache Studios, Boston, Massachusetts in June and November 1996.
Personnel: Ben Kweller (guitar); Brain (bass guitar).
Audio Mixers: Paul Q. Kolderie; Sean Slade.
Recording information: Fort Apache Studios, Boston, MA (06/1996/11/1996); Sheffield Studios, Baltimore, MD (06/1996/11/1996).
Photographer: Ray Lego.
You're never too old to rock and roll, or so the cliche goes, but can you be too young? Not according to Radish. The neo-grunge trio from Texas, led by 15-year-old singer/guitarist Ben Kweller, lets loose a full frontal attack of Nirvana-derived rock anthems that address the usual rock and roll topics of love, hate and boredom, but from a distinctly under-18 perspective.
Songs like "Aunt Arctica" and "Simple Sincerity" show off a predilection for cheery melodies and nagging hooks, keeping the Seattle sound that runs through most every song on RESTRAINING BOLT from becoming too derivative or overbearing. Kweller and his comrades, who were the subject of an industry-wide bidding war and received 100 decibels of hype even before their debut album was released, are clearly in love with rock and roll on both a practical and mythological level. Hopefully, they've learned enough from recent history to assimilate the accomplishments of icons like Kurt Cobain and sidestep their tragic mistakes.