Radon has never really done a lot for me. The melodies are nice but it really never strikes a chord one way or the other. In “Headaches and Bullshit,” it’s 2:29 of their traditional sound, melodic and emotional, delivered via Dave Rohm’s Greg Attonito-styled (Bouncing Souls) vocals over melodic hardcore with an emphasis on the melodic. It does feature a phrase Kurt Vonnegut made me fall in love with (“Take a flying fuck at a rolling donut”) so there’s that. It’s a nice emotional punk slab, that’s more or less exactly what I expect of the band.
On the flipside, it’s Japanese trio Worthwhile Way who bring the singalong pep-punk of “After the Rain Comes Sunshine,” which is also pretty on the spot to this band’s catalogue. It’s in tune with WW’s style guide, semi-singalong hoppy punk with a sincere brightness. In this track there’s a building crescendo at the 3:00 mark that gives a wallop before the closing harmonica, a new flourish, to bring the almost four-minute bounce-fest to its end.
Overall this 7” is exactly what fans should expect: two takeaway numbers that fit each band’s style to a T. It will accurately introduce fans of one band to the other, but it neither song really rises above as a “best of” showcase either. Good for the fans, good overall, but it doesn’t jump from the speakers with that definitive A-side I seek in of a 7”. Where it does deliver is that neither of these bands are particularly active when it comes to new US available releases, which bumps up the interest a little more, though I’d still rather just put on a long player by either of them.
