Playing soft and intricate pop, Brave Radar began as the solo project of Sydney, Australia’s Conor Prendergast. After moving to Montreal, he was joined by Halifax’s Tessa Smith of Fixture Records. The band has since grown to be a four-piece, full-fledged member of Montreal’s independent scene, with Smith’s label at the centre.
If he could describe the band in three words, Prendergast says Brave Radar is “frank, majestic and flappable.” Brave Radar’s OBEY show is Sunday at noon at Seven Bays Bouldering, a return to town after playing a Fixture showcase at the Halifax Pop Explosion in 2014. Next month, the band releases its first vinyl record, Lion Head, produced at The Bottle Garden in Montreal, the home studio of fellow Fixture band Freelove Fenner.
“The constraints of recording straight to tape were actually pretty fun,” says Prendergast. “It forces you to be a bit less precious.” Like bands Each Other and OBEY gig-mates Old & Weird, Brave Radar renegotiates standard scales and note progressions, with gentle half-time vocals.
“We share minimalism in common,” Prendergast says. “We really like those bands a lot and I can’t speak for them, but I feel like we just look for melodies that are interesting to us as a starting point. But I like the idea of trying to manipulate really basic ideas and textures, as well.”
