Fans of Swedish indie pop and post-shoegaze bedroom rock may already be familiar with The Radio Dept. on the strength of their full-length releases on Labrador. The band has a new EP out on the same label called Freddie And The Trojan Horse, which acts as a preview of their upcoming album, Clinging to a Scheme, itself slated for a September 10 release.
We’ve posted an MP3 of the title track from the EP below. The band’s wistful-yet-tinged-with-optimism aesthetic and a variable motorik beat on this release will sound familiar to existing fans. Here’s what each track sounds like on The Radio Dept’s new EP, Freddie and the Trojan Horse.
- "Freddie and the Trojan Horse" (title track) A minor-key, vaguely New Order-ish meditation on what the Swedish government has coming to it. Listen for yourself:
"Freddie And The Trojan Horse" (.mp3)
- "Closing Scene"
This one sounds like dust swirling in the sunlight as seen from aliving room couch. It’s thoughtfully combined with warm synths thatshoot through like stabs of sunlight seen from underwater.
- "The Room, Tarzana"
To my ear, this one is most reminiscent of the melodic patterns inthe band’s earlier work. Fans will continue to enjoy it in thispermutation. I like how you can hear the Roland Tape Echo (or somethingelse that sounds like rainy white noise) continuing to spool afterthe song ends.
- "Hidden Track"
This simple, fuzzed-out, circular jam is probably my favorite of thefour, although it doesn’t appear in the tracklisting. At 2:12, it’sshort and sweet — any longer, and it would have sounded unfinished.
That said, nothing here is as catchy as "1995" or (my personal favorite) "Why Won’t You Talk About It" from 2004’s Lesser Matters. Still, this worthwhile EP will attract its own share of regular listeners.
Radio Dept – "Why Won’t You Talk About It"
