Make no mistake. There is barely a note of epically grand progressive rock in this Marillion, which means one would find it more akin to modern British pop acts such as Radiohead than to the ambitious focus of its own former self. However, whereas This Strange Engine often tried unsuccessfully to bring the band's abilities into a considerably poppier scope, Radiation does the job more than adequately, bringing Marillion effectively into the much-changed musical landscape of recent years.

And the endeavor is duly noted, but there are quite a few slips along the way; most notably an irritating "Answering Machine" and the way "These Chains" turns awfully predictable after a rather promising beginning, which shows that the band had not yet understood the underlying elements of good modern pop completely. But it came pretty close to doing so. The gentle acoustic flow of "Now She'll Never Know" is an incredibly touching experience, with Hogarth's sincere on-the-verge-of-tears vocals drawing a knot inside the listener's throat with each passing second. And "Under the Sun" coasts cheerfully in an awesome beach-like groove that threatens to sneak itself into hip music circles before allowing brief moments of minor warnings to show through.

The third jewel of the record comes in the disturbingly haunting insomnia of "Cathedral Wall;" the album's sole epic and a parade through exhausted emotions and frightening aural images that raise themselves in the form of imposingly somber walls of sound. After the harrowing strength of the track is through, however, "A Few Words for the Dead" lifts the mood into happier terrain of comfort and rediscovered peace through atmospheric noises that slowly evolve into sweetened harmonies. What about the other tracks? Oops, sorry about that. Well, with the exception of "Three Minute Boy," they only range from mediocre to O.K., so there's really not much of a point in going into them that much. Bottom line is, Radiation has three incredible songs, a pleasant journey into peaceful ambience, another pretty good track, and a bunch of filler stuff. Your choice.

-by Marcelo Silveyra

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