This band has really ripped my heart out of my chest and sucked all the loving out of it for the past couple of months. I am not exaggerating, it's very Leah-Guillemots of me to say...ANYWAY, moving on ;)
The Radio Dept. @myspace.com
http://www.theradiodept.frih.net/
http://www.theradiodept.frih.net/
essential choons: 1995, Keen On Boys, The Worst Taste in Music, Pulling Our Weight, It’s Personal, Pet Grief, Why Won’t You Talk About It
And once again ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Swedish love. You name it, these guys have it all, the cheesy synths, the echoey voice, sweet harmonies... You could say New Order fell in love, calmed down, turned scandinavian, made best friends with M83 and headed down the path of shoegaze. I'd fill an album entitled "Music to make sweet love to" with their songs.
The band formed in 1995 Elin Almered and Johan Duncanson. Their name was taken gast station/radio repairer in a town called Lund, Sweden, where there hung a sign that said "The Radio Department" in Swedish. The Radio Dept. has been one fo those bands where members come and go and at certain stages it is not even sure wether there is anyone in the band anymore. Real recordings started in 1998, in bizzare locations. 4 tracks were recorded before in 2001 Lisa Carlberg and Per Blomgren Daniel Tjader joined. However after the release of their EP "This Past Week", in 2005, Lisa was asked to leave the band as they were thinking of heading a different direction for their coming album, and no longer required a bassist.
The well-known swedish indie label, Labrador Records, found this band with a sampler that was given out along with their review, with music magazine "Sonic", and immidiatley (like myself) fell in love. Most of their singles and EP's were released in 2002 and 2003, and their first (out of the two) album "Lesser Matters" was also released in 2003. Their CDEP "Pulling Weights" is probably the most easily recognized, as the songs were included in the soundtrack for Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoniette", which definetly had a great input in spreading the word on The Radio Dept. .
Their latest record, Pet Grief, was released last year, and is how I discovered them. Pet Grief would best be labled as a "Post-shoegaze" album, adopting new sounds that are not usually used in traditional shoegaze tunes. I could elaborate on this album for ages, but you'd probably find eventually find it way too much of a commitment to download it and actually listen to it, so i'll keep it short. The record includes both instrumental pieces and pieces accompanied by melancholic lyrics, sung by a soothing voice that complements the music but doesn't force you to focus solely on the singing. Despite the lyrics being quite depressing, they still seem to be full of hope and understanding of those situations that are hard to be explained generally... but that's what music is for, right?
" He can't forget you
You're quite a find
In my mind I see how he gets you
To close your eyes
Kiss the skies
You race down the stairs in the morning
A kiss in half promise, half warning
Why would you bother to hang around?
Even for some time, now
There will be others to frown upon
If it turns you on
But he's got the worst taste in music
If I didn't know this I'd lose it"
And once again ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Swedish love. You name it, these guys have it all, the cheesy synths, the echoey voice, sweet harmonies... You could say New Order fell in love, calmed down, turned scandinavian, made best friends with M83 and headed down the path of shoegaze. I'd fill an album entitled "Music to make sweet love to" with their songs.
The band formed in 1995 Elin Almered and Johan Duncanson. Their name was taken gast station/radio repairer in a town called Lund, Sweden, where there hung a sign that said "The Radio Department" in Swedish. The Radio Dept. has been one fo those bands where members come and go and at certain stages it is not even sure wether there is anyone in the band anymore. Real recordings started in 1998, in bizzare locations. 4 tracks were recorded before in 2001 Lisa Carlberg and Per Blomgren Daniel Tjader joined. However after the release of their EP "This Past Week", in 2005, Lisa was asked to leave the band as they were thinking of heading a different direction for their coming album, and no longer required a bassist.
The well-known swedish indie label, Labrador Records, found this band with a sampler that was given out along with their review, with music magazine "Sonic", and immidiatley (like myself) fell in love. Most of their singles and EP's were released in 2002 and 2003, and their first (out of the two) album "Lesser Matters" was also released in 2003. Their CDEP "Pulling Weights" is probably the most easily recognized, as the songs were included in the soundtrack for Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoniette", which definetly had a great input in spreading the word on The Radio Dept. .
Their latest record, Pet Grief, was released last year, and is how I discovered them. Pet Grief would best be labled as a "Post-shoegaze" album, adopting new sounds that are not usually used in traditional shoegaze tunes. I could elaborate on this album for ages, but you'd probably find eventually find it way too much of a commitment to download it and actually listen to it, so i'll keep it short. The record includes both instrumental pieces and pieces accompanied by melancholic lyrics, sung by a soothing voice that complements the music but doesn't force you to focus solely on the singing. Despite the lyrics being quite depressing, they still seem to be full of hope and understanding of those situations that are hard to be explained generally... but that's what music is for, right?
" He can't forget you
You're quite a find
In my mind I see how he gets you
To close your eyes
Kiss the skies
You race down the stairs in the morning
A kiss in half promise, half warning
Why would you bother to hang around?
Even for some time, now
There will be others to frown upon
If it turns you on
But he's got the worst taste in music
If I didn't know this I'd lose it"
