Radio Dept.

"Freddie and the Trojan Horse"

BY Cam LindsayPublished Jul 15, 2008

Since the Radio Dept.'s last album, 2006's Pet Grief, somehow stardom missed the band. Not just with that fine release but with their music's prominent cameo in the commercial flop that was Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, a film I feel will be re-evaluated fairly and regarded as a misunderstood classic in the years to come. But I digress...

Two years later and the ever-dependable Swedes return with the first single from their forthcoming third LP, titled Clinging to a Scheme (expected on September 10 via Labrador). Though they've often been tagged as shoegazers, the label states the new record has a few new directions in mind: "The new songs are said to be influenced by minimalistic post-punk, krautrock, repetitive "motorik" beat and ambient noise."

"Freddie and the Trojan Horse" doesn't exactly demonstrate any of those influences but it sure does continue their streak of consistency, which to date finds them yet to disappoint. Everything is in its right place here: the pensive lyrics within the softly delivered vocals, the dreamy wall of sound production built with a sea of reverb for the guitars and that imposing piano, and a whiplash drum machine that develops their growing love for a vintage electronic sounds.

I am calling this one: 2008 will be the year where the Radio Dept. become much more than an obsession for the blogosphere.

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