album of the week: 5.1

The Radio Dept.

Clinging To A Scheme

Labrador Records (2010)

why you'll love it: beauty through fuzz, innovative and catchy

why you'll hate it: hard to hear lyrics, very melancholy

There are a lot of threads to explore in detail with this album. Firstly, I've been waiting for its release for over two years. This month in 2008, the first single, "Freddie And The Trojan Horse" was released. It was a great song that marked a point of evolution for an already great band. So how great in the much anticipated full LP? So much, that they didn't even bother including that song in the final track list!

Clinging To A Scheme is ten tracks, just over thirty minutes, zero duds. The closest thing to a weak point is "The Video Dept." which sounds a bit too much like Pet Grief (2006) hangover. All the other tracks mix genres so well, all you can really say is what they aren't. Too fuzzy for trip-hop, too melodic to call noise, too structured to call shoegaze, etc etc etc… They've managed to create something original by using modest doses of familiar insperation.

Almost every song is a highlight. "Domestic Scene" is a perfect intro track. "Heaven's on Fire" is so pop, it's practically an experiment for The Radio Dept. "Never Follow Suit" has incredible atmosphere to it; as if it's an alternate reality version of "Ghost Town" by The Specials. The breakbeat club loops woven into "David"; the strange ping-pong sound effects in "A Token of Gratitude"… the album is full of subtle memorable moments, and constantly maintaing an accessible melody. This is all around perfect album if you like dreamy music.

The only trappings of this album are a couple quirks The Radio Dept. has always had that either you love or you don't. The echoey distorted vocals. The melancholy tone of 95% of the songs. Cryptic lyrics. These things may frustrate certain listeners who demand more straightforwardness in their music, or need everything to sound clean.

To me, this album has lived up to the two year hype. It's a big improvement in versatility, and has proven to be much more interesting than most of what I've anticipated this year (Gorillaz, Hot Chip, capsule). One of the best of 2010 for sure!