Today was really dark and gloomy, which seems to have put me into the mood for The Radio Dept. Their music is quite befitting of this weather... it's shoegazey, melancholy, a bit subdued, but also lush and really well-layered between the vocals, guitar, keyboard, samples, and drum machine.
The Radio Dept. comes from Sweden, and formed in 1995. Interestingly, I've never seen their name written as "The Radio Department", it's always abbreviated as "The Radio Dept." Anyway, they apparently took their name from a gas station/radio repair shop they saw called Radioavdelningen, or "the radio department" in Swedish. They've had many band members come and go, and now consist of Johan (original member), Martin, and Daniel. They've released several singles and E.P.s, and two full-length albums: Lesser Matters (2003) and Pet Grief (2006). If you've read my last post you might know how much I love a good B-side... so the song I'm featuring here is "Deliverance", a B-side from the "This Past Week" E.P. (2005).
For some extra credit I'm including a video for another one of their songs, "Pulling Our Weight", from the "Pulling Our Weight" E.P. (2005). I think it explains why the weather here is so dreary.
For more songs and info check out their website and page on myspace.
-randy