The Radio Dept. | Artist

The Radio Dept. is a Swedish dream pop band formed 1995 in Lund, Sweden by Johan Duncansson (vocals, guitar) and Elin Almered (vocals). Martin Larsson (guitar) joined in 1998, and Daniel Tjäder (keyboards), Lisa Carlberg (bass, vocals), and Per Blomgren (drums) joined in 2001. Elin Almered left the band in 2003 and Lisa Carlberg left in 2005. They are one of the more successful shoegaze-influenced indie rock bands to come out of Sweden in the early 2000s, making waves among indie aficionados on the strength of their critically acclaimed first release. Starting out, schoolmates Elin Almered and Johan Duncanson formed a band which they named after a gas-station-turned-radio-repair-shop called "Radioavdelningen" (Swedish for The Radio Department). Soonafter, Almered and Duncanson stopped playing music together, putting the outfit on hiatus. Three years later, in 1998, Duncanson started making music again but now with Martin Larsson and they decided to adopt the same name. In 2001, Larsson's then girlfriend Lisa Carlberg joined the group on bass, followed by Per Blomgren on drums and Daniel Tjäder on keyboards. In 2001 they sent recordings to music magazine Sonic, receiving a positive review and being featured on the magazine's free CD sampler. Labrador Records heard the disc and signed them to their label. The band's debut album Lesser Matters (2003) was well received by the music press, scoring 9 out of 10 in the NME. Per Blomgren left the band prior to the release of this album and Lisa Carlberg departed after the release of the following This Past Week EP. Musically, the band falls under the indie pop, shoegaze and twee pop categories, with reviews comparing them to Pet Shop Boys, My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins. The band themselves cite an extensive number of influences such as Charles Aznavour, Saint Etienne, Broadcast, Frank Sinatra, Joy Division, Pet Shop Boys, Chet Baker, Fennesz, Nick Drake, Kevin Rowland, Prefab Sprout, Kraftwerk, Neu!, Jonathan Richman, The Avalanches and The Pale Fountains. In the studio, the band has output only four albums in thirty years, albeit with the addition of over 20 consistently excellent singles and 10 EPs. Standout releases include Lesser Matters (2003), Pet Grief (2006), Clinging to a Scheme (2010), the EP Pulling Our Weight (2003), and the compilation Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002-2010 (2011). Three of the band's tracks; "Pulling Our Weight", "I Don't Like It Like This" and "Keen on Boys" were included on the soundtrack for Sofia Coppola's film Marie Antoinette. While known for dreamy indie pop, the band has frequently addressed Swedish politics in their music, notably with the single "Freddie And The Trojan Horse," which targeted former Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. Founding member Elin Almered contributed her artwork for the cover of the band's debut album.

Artist Website: wikipedia/The_Radio_Dept.

Featured Albums: The Radio Dept.