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

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the world isnt ready for a shoegazing revival... just yet...

and thats the sad truth..

danny boy (danny boy), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 23:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Are they REALLY as good as Lansing-Dreiden?

Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 23:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Radio Dept have some vague post-shoegazing sonic tendencies but I think it's completely off to call them shoegazers or shoegaze revivalists: there's a duct-tape bedroomy sound to some of this stuff that strikes me as having more to do with Russian Futurists or Rocketship or even old Magnetic Fields than any big shoegazer band-in-a-room. And yeah, coverage-wise it's down to exactly what Scott said: it didn't get that proper publicity-driven on-the-release-date coverage, and over the course of its slow-burn bubbling-up reception it was kinda too late for outlets to really hop on it. This is incidentally one thing I dislike about review outlets of all sort, not just music: I don't understand the need to be timely with everything. Obviously there's a kind of admission-of-failure that goes with coming around to something a bit late, but it seems like if something's great and people would like it and it isn't being covered or talked about elsewhere, there's no harm in hitting it.

nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 23:10 (twenty-one years ago)

I just heard "Lesser Matters", and every track is appealing to me except maybe "Your Father".

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

me, Thursday, 23 December 2004 01:25 (twenty-one years ago)

"This is incidentally one thing I dislike about review outlets of all sort, not just music: I don't understand the need to be timely with everything."

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?

Nancy Boy (Nancy Boy), Thursday, 23 December 2004 01:33 (twenty-one years ago)

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.

cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 23 December 2004 01:57 (twenty-one years ago)

and no, they sound NOTHING like lansing dreiden.

cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 23 December 2004 01:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Specific examples for my Lansing-Dreiden comparison: "Liebling" and "We Would Fall Agaisnt The Tide" off their Against The Tide EP.

Nancy Boy (Nancy Boy), Thursday, 23 December 2004 02:07 (twenty-one years ago)

that's ok, i still love you nancy boy.

cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 23 December 2004 02:08 (twenty-one years ago)

i heard lansing dreiden sounds like olivia tremor control

artdamages (artdamages), Thursday, 23 December 2004 02:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Aw, shucks.

Nancy Boy (Nancy Boy), Thursday, 23 December 2004 02:09 (twenty-one years ago)

NaBo: I dunno, the recent "good indie things" thread had more discussion of Radio Dept than most anything else. I don't know that their situation is one of having to "prove themselves," or anyway it's not that any more than it'd be for a good release that originated on a US label like Dougle Agent, Grimsey, or -- umm -- Shelflife. First off there's an inbuilt suspicion of this kind of thing, as there are always half a billion indie pop-type records with legions of indie pop-type people going "omigod it's the best thing ever"; in only about 10% of those cases is there even a shot of any crossover appeal. Second, there's no big publicity push to actually get these already-suspicious releases reviewed in a timely manner, and once they slip there's even less reason to believe they're worth making a late-breaking push about. Thirdly, in the case of Radio Dept, there's really no one-liner basis to make a push for it: cutty's right, it really is just yr basic bedroom-indie pop-type stuff.

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.

nabiscothingy (nory), Thursday, 23 December 2004 03:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Actually I meant to note that while cutty's right and this really is just kinda yr basic bedroom-indie pop-type stuff, I concur that it's particularly well-done basic bedroom-indie pop-type stuff. Which is the whole thing about this genre -- it's not actually generic! The whole beauty of listening to something like this or something like Russian Futurists is hearing someone sketch out his or her own particular idiosyncratic pop vision in miniature. It's never quite the same: you record an album in this way and no matter how much you try to slick it up it's going to come out sounding slightly weird and unmistakably just yours.

nabiscothingy (nory), Thursday, 23 December 2004 03:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Nabisco,
That "good indie thing" thread is actually where I first heard about The Radio Dept. If my memory serves, the whole point of that thread was to discuss bands that had been (undeservedly?) missed by el radar. I'm just wondering out loud why that happened to this particular band. I guess it has to do with distribution, PR, and the whole promotions apparatus...

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.

Nancy Boy (Nancy Boy), Thursday, 23 December 2004 05:28 (twenty-one years ago)

ok, i take it back, you are a moron.

cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 23 December 2004 15:44 (twenty-one years ago)

CUTTY IS OTM; YOU GUYS ARE GAY

TITS.JPG (ex machina), Thursday, 23 December 2004 18:49 (twenty-one years ago)

NEW POINTS NEW LINES

nabiscothingy (nory), Thursday, 23 December 2004 19:00 (twenty-one years ago)

their name is bad, I don't know about the music, but there's already a Radio 4 and a hundred other bands with Radio in their name. Surely we can be more creative than this.

kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 23 December 2004 19:01 (twenty-one years ago)

my next band will be named Radio Band

kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 23 December 2004 19:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Their name is Radioavdelningen. "The Radio Dept." is the english translation.

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

Nancy Boy (Nancy Boy), Thursday, 23 December 2004 20:03 (twenty-one years ago)

*This* is gay:

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

Nancy Boy (Nancy Boy), Thursday, 23 December 2004 20:05 (twenty-one years ago)

NEW POINTS NEW LINES

nabiscothingy (nory), Thursday, 23 December 2004 20:13 (twenty-one years ago)

the new trembling blue stars single is totally rsdio dept but the rest of the album isn't.

keith m (keithmcl), Friday, 24 December 2004 16:01 (twenty-one years ago)

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

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

Nancy Boy (Nancy Boy), Friday, 24 December 2004 16:10 (twenty-one years ago)

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

wolf radio, surely

the surface noise (slight return) (electricsound), Friday, 24 December 2004 22:19 (twenty-one years ago)

the wolf radios

cutty (mcutt), Friday, 24 December 2004 22:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Found this Audioscrobbler group "connected" to the Radio Dept.

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?

Nancy Boy (Nancy Boy), Saturday, 25 December 2004 16:47 (twenty-one years ago)

i hate those lostmusic people.

:| (....), Saturday, 25 December 2004 17:27 (twenty-one years ago)

indie rock is dead

Julio Casablanco, Saturday, 25 December 2004 21:04 (twenty-one years ago)

dead as disco. in 1994.

:| (....), Saturday, 25 December 2004 22:25 (twenty-one years ago)

They're releasing a new EP in January. It's called This Past Week and according to trustworthy sources it's supposed to be great. For all you fans of the album you MUST get hold of the EP called Pulling Our Weight. It was released after the album and it's even better than the album(if you can believe that). This band can do nothing wrong.

Crapstone (Crapstone), Saturday, 25 December 2004 23:34 (twenty-one years ago)

I can't get past the aroma of pale indie underachievement on the LP.

Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Sunday, 26 December 2004 00:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Is that new EP the "Ewan EP"?

Nancy Boy (Nancy Boy), Sunday, 26 December 2004 05:57 (twenty-one years ago)

No, that's not something official because they've never released any EP with that name. It's a song though.

Crapstone (Crapstone), Sunday, 26 December 2004 12:19 (twenty-one years ago)

it does exist, it was just released on XL. the newer ep is coming out on labrador.

keith m (keithmcl), Sunday, 26 December 2004 17:37 (twenty-one years ago)

"it does exist, it was just released on XL. the newer ep is coming out on labrador."

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..

Crapstone (Crapstone), Sunday, 26 December 2004 21:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Am I allowed to vote for the Radio Dept in my end of year list or is it too 2003, do you think?. 'Strange Things Will Happen' is pushing to be my favourite song of the year.

Alba (Alba), Thursday, 30 December 2004 17:38 (twenty-one years ago)

strange things will happen is their best tune, too bad it's the only track where that girl sings. if she were the voice of the band, i would actually like them.

cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 30 December 2004 17:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Seems apropos that "Lesser Things" made Broken Social Scene's top 10 records of 2004.

Nancy Boy (Nancy Boy), Friday, 31 December 2004 02:04 (twenty-one years ago)

NEW POINTS NEW LINES

Ian Moraine (Eastern Mantra), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 11:08 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...
I love the new EP a lot. 'Deliverence' is just great.

Hari A$hur$t (Toaster), Sunday, 13 February 2005 01:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes. Yes. Yes. The ep is the best thing they've done. The first three tracks are simply amazing. A bit lighter than before, more Pet Shop Boys-ish.

Hanna (Hanna), Monday, 14 February 2005 11:11 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...
okay for all the fun I made of their name up above, Lesser Matters is really good, much better than the Postal Service for this sort of thing.

kyle (akmonday), Monday, 14 March 2005 19:29 (twenty-one years ago)

five months pass...
Lesser Matters is such an excellent album.

The Brainwasher (Twilight), Saturday, 27 August 2005 04:30 (twenty years ago)

(cont). Does anyone know what they're up to now? A new album in the pipes perhaps?

The Brainwasher (Twilight), Saturday, 27 August 2005 04:33 (twenty years ago)

they put out those two EPs in Sweden, and i gather they've finished/are nearly finished the followup..

jimmy glass (electricsound), Saturday, 27 August 2005 04:53 (twenty years ago)

the new album is out in september according to this website but they might be on crack. Suburban Kids with Biblical Names debut is out in October.

keith m (keithmcl), Saturday, 27 August 2005 13:40 (twenty years ago)

six months pass...
Pet Grief out on April 12th and I'm already digging the single "The Worse Taste In Music". I got into the EPs first and then Lesser Matters and I wasn't as crazy about it as I thought I'd be, probably because their music works to create some sort of catatonic mood in small doses. Still, I'm highly anticipating the new one.

Anyone heard it yet?

alex in montreal (alex in montreal), Friday, 24 March 2006 14:59 (twenty years ago)

From labrador.se:

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.

pinder (pinder), Saturday, 25 March 2006 01:48 (twenty years ago)

yes!

Isi, Saturday, 13 January 2018 08:11 (eight years ago)

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.

geoffreyess, Sunday, 14 January 2018 16:50 (eight years ago)

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.

boxedjoy, Monday, 15 January 2018 11:43 (eight years ago)

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

ufo, Monday, 15 January 2018 11:59 (eight years ago)

two months pass...

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

tinnitus the night (Ross), Saturday, 24 March 2018 19:19 (eight years ago)

five months pass...

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

everything this band does is gold

ufo, Friday, 31 August 2018 05:01 (seven years ago)

hell yeah

yes, said (Ross), Friday, 31 August 2018 18:32 (seven years ago)

three months pass...

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

Van Horn Street, Sunday, 2 December 2018 01:46 (seven years ago)

one year passes...

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

https://youtu.be/7wQYGTmjJyg

self-clowning oven (Murgatroid), Tuesday, 4 February 2020 18:37 (six years ago)

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

kitchen person, Tuesday, 4 February 2020 18:48 (six years ago)

that's really gorgeous, i love this band

ufo, Tuesday, 4 February 2020 23:45 (six years ago)

the best band of all time

american bradass (BradNelson), Tuesday, 4 February 2020 23:47 (six years ago)

that harp is really chrono trigger

ufo, Tuesday, 4 February 2020 23:47 (six years ago)

a beautiful tune

nxd, Tuesday, 4 February 2020 23:53 (six years ago)

one month passes...

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

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

ufo, Friday, 20 March 2020 15:28 (six years ago)

three months pass...

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

this band can do no wrong

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

ufo, Friday, 3 July 2020 22:26 (five years ago)

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

boxedjoy, Saturday, 4 July 2020 11:55 (five years ago)

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

sctttnnnt (pgwp), Saturday, 4 July 2020 14:02 (five years ago)

six months pass...

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

stylish but illegal (Simon H.), Wednesday, 20 January 2021 15:32 (five years ago)

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

self-clowning oven (Murgatroid), Wednesday, 20 January 2021 15:36 (five years ago)

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

stylish but illegal (Simon H.), Wednesday, 20 January 2021 15:43 (five years ago)

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

sctttnnnt (pgwp), Wednesday, 20 January 2021 16:35 (five years ago)

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

stylish but illegal (Simon H.), Wednesday, 20 January 2021 16:42 (five years ago)

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

ufo, Wednesday, 20 January 2021 20:01 (five years ago)

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

stylish but illegal (Simon H.), Wednesday, 20 January 2021 20:17 (five years ago)

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

stylish but illegal (Simon H.), Wednesday, 20 January 2021 20:18 (five years ago)

two weeks pass...

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.

o. nate, Thursday, 4 February 2021 21:33 (five years ago)

yeah I was curious about that one

Evan, Thursday, 4 February 2021 21:34 (five years ago)

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

o. nate, Thursday, 4 February 2021 21:36 (five years ago)

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...

Evan, Thursday, 4 February 2021 21:44 (five years ago)

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

o. nate, Thursday, 4 February 2021 22:00 (five years ago)

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.

sctttnnnt (pgwp), Thursday, 4 February 2021 23:16 (five years ago)

two years pass...

"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

blue6ave, Tuesday, 2 May 2023 04:46 (three years ago)

one year passes...

this is the greatest band of all time

ivy., Saturday, 1 March 2025 22:12 (one year ago)

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

boxedjoy, Saturday, 1 March 2025 23:27 (one year ago)

So many good uncompiled singles too

I am using your worlds, Sunday, 2 March 2025 07:46 (one year ago)

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?

ufo, Sunday, 2 March 2025 07:52 (one year ago)

two months pass...

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

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

Murgatroid, Thursday, 22 May 2025 12:48 (one year ago)

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

treeship., Thursday, 22 May 2025 12:50 (one year ago)

one year passes...

they're playing p4k london which is their first show in 8 years so maybe there'll be new music at last

ufo, Monday, 8 June 2026 14:07 (two days ago)

My wife and I were just listening to Lesser Matters the other day and lamenting that they’d seemed to have disappeared. Glad to see them out and hope something new will come

sctttnnnt (pgwp), Monday, 8 June 2026 16:02 (two days ago)


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