release date: Oct. 21, 2016
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,46]
producer: The Radio Dept.
label: Labrador Records - nationality: Sweden
Track highlights: 2. "Swedish Guns" - 5. "Occupied" - 6. "This Thing Was Bound to Happen" - 7. "Can't Be Guilty" - 8. "Committed to the Cause" (4 / 5) - 9. "Running Out of Love" - 10. "Teach Me to Forget"
4th studio album by The Radio Dept. is the self-produced [Tomas Bodén and Erik Möller are co-producers on track 10] follow-up to Clinging to a Scheme from 2010, which reflects a hiatus of six and half years. That's a long time in the music industry, and in the meantime the band has been reduced to a duo consisting of the two main forces of the band: Johan Duncanson and Martin Carlberg [Larsson]. Former member Daniel Tjäder plays additional keyboard on track 7 - Tjäder left the band to concentrate on the electronic- and synthpop-driven side-project, Korallreven, founded in 2009 together with Marcus Joons.
One of the most talked about reasons for the long hiatus is one of conflicting interests as the band made a law-suit against the record label, Labrador. In an interview with Canadian media Exclaim! Johan Duncanson explains the battle with the record label [ read here ] - a case the band officially lost, but which ultimately resulted in a renewal and better contract with Labrador.
Needless to say, the time span since the last album and the reduction in band members has resulted in a new style on "Running Out of Love". It still sounds like The Radio Dept., but the previous ever-presence of a noise pop element is basically gone, and also the dream pop style has been reduced or re-shaped into synthpop with indietronica elements. Former albums by the band were always founded on guitar, bass and drums - this is electronically created although, bass and drums play a central part. Some critics call it their New Order-creation. Yes, it certainly has lots of similarities with the synthpop and alt. dance universe, but I find it much more original than just that. Apart from a change of style the album also reveals the band as highly politically conscient, and... "It’s an album about all the things that are moving in the wrong direction", as the band puts it.
Fans will be looking in vain for what they know as The Radio Dept. but this is a band in transition, or: time is another, and Duncanson and Carlberg still have much to offer.
