Why is The Radio Dept. being, like, so ignored by Indiedom?

ihttp://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22radio+dept.%22+pitchfork

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/wearetheworld/features/03-10-mixproject.shtml

and thats the sad truth..

I think a little bit of civilization went down the toilet when someone coined the term 'indiedom'.

I agree with you entirely on this point, Nabisco, and considering that, I guess I shouldn't have singled out Pitchfork, but I couldn't even find any serious discussion of The Radio Dept. on ILM, and I thought that was definitely a little weird... especially considering the ridiculous amount of talk that The Arcade Fire is "generating". Is this a regional thing? Do european (read: non-anglicans) artists necessarily have more to prove? Why?

this is lo-fi bedroom generic indie straight from 1992. send it back.

I think anyone who's inclined to like any sort of genuine indie-indie pop stuff is going to wind up spending half of every year with head in hands wondering why that one the Truly Deserved to cross over never got the slightest bit of attention; this is possibly kind of a better situation, really, because it keeps us from ever having to discover the potential truth that nobody else would like this stuff anyway. I dunno -- I'm still thinking exactly the same kind of stuff about Toulouse's New Points New Lines, from a couple years back.

As far as Cutty's comments about "lo-fi bedroom generic indie straight from 1992", I really don't see anything generic about it all. And some of my favorite bands have bedrooms, lo-fi or otherwise.

Kyle, you should name your next band "The Black Radio". Then you've got all your bases covered.

ihttp://ilx.p3r.net/userinfo.php?username=ex+machina

iBrilliant recent indie/alt-rock/whatever for those who've lost interest in/touch with it all a bit

This is the thread Nabisco mentioned earlier

wolf radio, surely

ihttp://www.audioscrobbler.com/group/lostmusic

"We are here to find lost music that has been made or is waiting to be made. We want to find great new music. We want to rediscover music that, for whatever reason, has slipped off the radar. We also want to build a thriving community of like minded souls who can share their passion for music in an open and friendly environment.

"lostmusic likes its sounds in many different ways - subtle and aching, noisey and abrasive. We are suckers for a great melody and love music made with attitude out of love not greed. Our roots can be traced back to the 80's indie scene and beyond that to punk and further back to the 60's with The Velvet Underground and even further back to Elvis and the rockers of the 50's."

Also, "Wolf Radio" rules, but how about Radio Hague?

ihttp://www.labrador.se/releases/index.php3

http://www.labrador.se/images/ill_release.jpg

okay, but that's a british/american release then. I live in sweden so we wont be getting that(or will we?). two of the songs are old and the third is not something I recognize..

Anyone heard it yet?

http://www.labrador.se/cover/lab095.jpg

release date: April 12

1. it's personal
2. pet grief
3. a window
4. i wanted you to feel the same
5. south side
6. the worst taste in music
7 every time
8. what will give?
9. gibraltar
10. sleeping in
11. tell
12. always a relief

Hopefully XL Records will distribute it in North America like they did for Lesser Matters.

good.

I sort of feel the opposite. I like listening to their songs, but Lesser Matters isn't very exciting when taken in a large dose.

This new single is not quite as immediate as "Where Damage...", but it has some shimmery goodness.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/95/Clinging_to_a_Scheme.jpg

Clinging to a Scheme is the upcoming third album by The Radio Dept. It is going to be released on April 21, 2010 by Labrador Records.

Track listing

1. Domestic Scene
2. Heaven's on Fire
3. This Time Around
4. Never Follow Suit
5. A Token of Gratitude
6. The Video Dept.
7. Memory Loss
8. David
9. Four Months in the Shade
10. You Stopped Making Sense

this has leaked

Is it legit? I know there's some question about the leak a few days ago (maybe this one's different?)

"Heaven's on Fire" is awesome, but sadly not a KISS cover.

yeah, mine is good and i'm liking it so far.

The only problem with this band is the vocals. Who decided the guy could sing? ...he's terrible! They would be like a million times better with a good singer.

Just got a hot review on p4k. Kinda jj'ish? (Or is that vice-versa?) Anyway, I'm taking the cover as a recommendation and I plan to listen to the album in preferred state this week.

this is a great record. one of my most played for 2010. it is perfect for night listening. might be their best album yet.

will have to go read the review, thank for pointing it out.

It is a great album though it's not a huge growth. I like it much more than Pet Grief, but not as much as Lesser Matters, which I don't think they'll ever top.

Picked this up last week myself and it's excellent... possibly their best work.

Agreed that "Heaven's on Fire" is stunning.

First two tracks from the album in a single video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXbBT0ZNr5s

The highs are extremely high and the lows have improved (for me) over time. Kind of wish it were longer but it's better to be short and perfect than long and patchy.

it's better to be short and perfect than long and patchy.

This applies nicely to the jj album, too. I don't see the comparison except for a couple tracks, but both albums are short and sweet, and among my most played of the last few weeks.

i read these guys set out to sound nothing like jj or balearic. don't think they do either tbh.

is that dude taking a hit out of a shotgun?

Don't think this band has been much good since half the band left sometime after the 1st album. This new one is better than Pet Grief though, but I didn't like that one at all.

PEOPLE SEE ROCK AND ROLL AS-- AS YOUTH CULTURE

AND WHEN YOUTH CULTURE BECOMES MONOPOLIZED BY BIG BUSINESS... WHAT ARE THE YOUTH TO DO

DO YOU-- DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA

I THINK WE SHOULD DESTROY THE BOGUS CAPITALIST PROCESS THAT IS DESTROYING YOUTH CULTURE

This is really good, the whole album has this upbeat-yet-melancholy sense around it, which is really charming.

these guys suck. subpar indie papp. plugging your guitar in direct doesn't make you shoegaze, it just makes the guitar sound like it's plugged in direct.

this is lo-fi bedroom generic indie straight from 1992. send it back.

i like this album a lot more than pet grief, but still not quite up to the debut. they really really need to drop whatever fx they use on the voice. it won't kill them, sambassadeur survived and came out sounding a lot better for it.

they have released some more new stuff this year, they are sounding a lot like early Cure again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cufn8iXYmE

ok i like it, but seriously dude it's time to consider a different way of processing your voice. why, labrador records, why??

New double-disc collection, "Passive Aggressive," is out tomorrow. Funny to me that it's categorized as "a-sides and b-sides" (Radio Dept. have a-sides?), but it's still a welcome collection. All of the second disc is unknown to me. Only a handful from the first disc are new to me, but it's still enough to make it worthwhile.

i will be picking this up

hmmm i'm p sure i have all those tracks on the various singles, will need to check

It's nearly all taken from the various singles, plus a couple of compilation appearances and non-album singles. EPs are under-represented, albums are over-represented.

This singles collection is surprisingly easy for me to keep coming back to.

Agree.

All three albums have been reissued on vinyl...

http://www.labrador.se/shop.php3
http://www.insound.com/Radio-Dept/A/19661/

New single:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xImOZW0t7w

I didn't expect them to absorb early house music influences, much less for that to work, but I really like this direction.

These guys really take long breaks between releases! "Clinging to a Scheme" seems like it was half a lifetime ago. Kinda thought they'd broken up.

"occupied" rules

Yeah, nice stuff. I wouldn't mind an album of songs like that.

It's great! It'd be nice if a new album came out with some summer to spare.

Spotify has the new tracks---"Occupied" plus two more. And apparently they snuck in a single last year, too, though I'm not as crazy about that one.

omg hooray i return to "clinging to a scheme" all the time and always think "whatever happened to those guys"

There was a really long stretch between Pet Grief and Clinging, too. That's just their pace I guess. See also Kings of Convenience.

I wouldn't mind a new album.

Wow, these guys really like releasing songs with zero fanfare, huh: https://soundcloud.com/labrador-records/the-radio-dept-this-repeated-sodomy-1

I like this track - has a big Lesser Matters feel.

Still being ignored. Still killing it. Their 2015 single "Occupied" is incredible. The base chord changes sound like the Twin Peaks score.

New album this year. Supposedly.

Heavens on Fire is perfect pop forever

They'll be here in Seoul in a couple of weeks. Very excited.

NEW ALBUM ALERT

http://www.stereoboard.com/content/view/200308/9

Excited for this. The new songs they played here last month sounded great.

So excited. "Occupied" is still great.

Is Indie Dom still ignoring them? I hope he catches on.

pet grief is kind of cool

This is the best music news I've heard all year.

this album is glorious

i especially love can't be guilty & committed to the cause

Out or leaked?

leaked, i think it's still 2 months away

I've always like their singles and b sides a little more than their full lengths. But I like this new record!

"swedish guns" is so fucking good

I like the housey pop direction they have taken, driving around listening in the rain today was nice.

Touring too :)

I love how their albums are so concise.

wow, this sounds nothing like i expected it to do. the "housey pop" description is true. at first listen, the pace and feel is maybe too consistent. committed to the cause followed by running out of love is beautiful.

Committed To The Cause is the best thing they have ever done, I constantly have that synth melody in my head just now.

Stream here: http://www.npr.org/2016/10/13/497569716/first-listen-the-radio-dept-running-out-of-love

Nothing new to add, this is wonderful. I love "Can't Be Guilty" most so far.

There's enough variety that I don't think a few fuzzy indie pop numbers would've interrupted the flow. Last year I'd kinda hoped for an album where "Occupied" was followed by the rush and "lately I've been occupied" open of "This Repeated Sodomy."

Had no idea RD released a new album! They really are kind of ignored. Listening to it now. Clinging to a Scheme is my top twenty of the decade, probably.

Ok, at "Can't Be Guilty" and at this point it's safe to say I'm loving this album. It sounds like a grower, too.

I'm hearing Junior Boys vibes with this one, more so than CtaS...

This album is so good, it's like the best parts of their b-sides collection ("Passive Aggressive") mixed with CtaS.

All their albums are awesome and this is no exception. Personally they are a top five band of the last 15 years.

I think CtaS has the edge on this slightly

I'll take "Pet Grief" over any of them. Yes, that album is more of a sustained mood, but it's unfuckwithable. Turned my co-worker onto their new album and he doesn't want to give the iPod back :-D

really jamming the hell out of this explicitly anti-fascist album lately

i like these guys - clinging to a scheme is my favorite album. their upcoming show in philly tickets are only $15. what's their live show like - would i dig it should i go?

Never seen them but it's such a cheap show :) I'm going in late February

I saw them for the CTAS tour, and really enjoyed it, despite it being one of the last failed dates with my ex.

Definitely go! The songs become something really special in a more intimate live setting.

Saw Radio Dept. tonight. Technical difficulties forced their hand into playing less new songs. However, on the plus side they deviated from their standard set and played more oldies like "Always a Relief" and "Why Won't You Talk About It"!!

Saw them a few weeks ago - they sounded fantastic though they have almost no stage presence whatsoever.

aaaaa holy shit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKDp3RtmePo

so fucking good!!

Running Out of Love might be their best album yet. I wish they were more prolific.

I love the Henning Furst remix on the new EP where he turns "We Got Game" into a reggae number with an interpolation of Inner City's "Good Life"

https://soundcloud.com/the-radio-dept/your-true-name

new single!

yes!

Can a band have an imperial phase this long into its career, and when no one notices? Death to Fascism/Occupied/This Repeated Sodomy/Swedish Guns/We Got Game/Teach Me to Forget/Your True Name is an insane run of singles, and some of the album tracks (Can't Be Guilty, specifically) are even better.

imperial phase runs longer imo

what I love about The Radio Dept is that even with all the muffled, lo-fi production and political lyrics, their music always seems so melodically direct, it feels so instinctive that even listening to "Your True Name" for the first time just seems to fall into a kind of logic, like this song has always existed and they just managed to capture it floating in the air, the way the chords - like many of their songs - capture this peaceful melancholy.

they're probably the most consistent band of the last two decades

Your true name reminds me of that new improved hypocrisy song they did. Otm above about consistency and that EP version of teach me to forget rules

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rz3DWHlBSU

everything this band does is gold

hell yeah

everything this band does is gold

― ufo, Friday, August 31, 2018 1:01 AM (three months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Including this gem of a session

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB8R2lFfo84

New single, apparently they’ll release one a month and compile them into an album

https://youtu.be/7wQYGTmjJyg

Love this. They don't really know how to write bad songs do they.

that's really gorgeous, i love this band

the best band of all time

that harp is really chrono trigger

a beautiful tune

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzFzSaObvvc

not quite as transcendent as the last one but i still love it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFCoQRxclZs

this band can do no wrong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a38AvNvoqLI

at this point it's a case of wondering whether I will love or really love each new single they put out, what a faultless run they're on

Feel like a lot of the new singles this year are throwbacks to the sound of their first album - which makes me really happy!

revisiting "Occupied" today

We all wish there was a hell for some people
Some kind of retribution
You want him freed from his arms and legs, cash
And crown and frown
But as you know that's not the way it goes
When was it ever? No
'Cause wicked people thrive
While the likes of you go down
Down, down, down
Down, down, down

Simon, were you going to go see them at the Mod Club last year? I had a ticket, still bummed :(

I was not! But if they ever come back I will definitely make an attempt.

Aren’t we supposed to have a new album around now? Did COVID derail their 2020 plans?

I would be happy with them just continuing to release an amazing single every few months

they were aiming to have released enough singles last year to compile on an album by the end of the year, yeah, but i would assume covid derailed that

the few they did put out were fantastic though so hopefully we get more before too long

I'm smashing that LP preorder if/when that happens.

(relatedly: I wish the 2xLP of Passive Aggressive was affordable anywhere)

I recently discovered the EP compilation, "I Don't Need Love, I've Got My Band". I guess this slots in before "Pet Grief" on their timeline. Great stuff with great sound.

yeah I was curious about that one

I think I like it better than "Pet Grief" actually. Probably my second favorite of their releases after "Clinging to a Scheme".

This comp? OK noted! How about vs. Passive Aggressive Singles comp?

You can tell this is a cult band when you look at the vinyl prices on discogs by the way...

I haven't heard that one, so can't compare.

I Don't Need Love... is a combo of two EPS, "Pulling Our Weight" and "This Past Week". Some of those songs but not all were on the Passive Aggressive comp.

"There will be a new album and a reissue of Clinging soon enough" - https://www.instagram.com/p/CrT0VIwsPus/c/18212993155230836/r/18088537165334192/?hl=en

this is the greatest band of all time

I've been listing to the last two albums a lot lately while I've been working from home, amazing how this music feels so comforting and familiar, yet so strikingly good

So many good uncompiled singles too

what ended up happening to that idea of a new album 5 years ago i wonder, the pandemic probably got in the road i guess

but where have they been?

on the new Mythologen single w/ Jens Lekman on piano (!!!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR4Cj9aHbAI

awesome, thank you for this. some of my favorite musicians.