"We were put to shame acting kind" (The Radio Dept. - Running Out of Love)

pro: heavy in heart and content
con: light in hit singles

This could have been a pretty easy review to write an intro for.  A pithy "Hey, remember the eighties?" or even an appropriate "Hey, remeber The Radio Dept.?"  As it turns out, the reason for a six year gap between albums for this Swedish dream-pop act partly lends itself as to why this review has a different tone than anticipated.

The great (not-so) secret about The Radio Dept. is that they are a punk band at heart.  Their soft mumbling, and etherial sounding synths, set to a dance-floor like tempo, instantly evoke the image of sappy love and loss.  A hard look at their lyrics tell a different story.  The band does not shy from their distaste of their own record label, and being regarded as a band for romantic teens.  Fighting against being what many want them to be has left them at a creative stalemate for six years.  With patience, it seems The Radio Dept. has finally gotten the chance they've been fighting for.  

On the aptly titled Running Out of Love, the "dream-pop" mask is being pulled away more than ever before.  What lies beneath is a very real testament about their homeland's losing battle against xenophobia and fascism.  "Sloboda Narodu" begins with the end.  The end of patience and hopeful thinking.  Aside from a few more electronic bells and whistles, The Radio Dept. hasn't departed far from their last LP; but the clever nods to punk protest are over.  Running Out of Love has a clear message: the fear of "what if" has been replaced with "what is".

Addressing the creep of alt-right takeover in Sweden comes in the topics of the arms industry ("Swedish Guns"), protest suppression ("We Got Game"), capitalist apathy ("Occupied"), and those who put their heads in the sand ("Can't Be Guilty").  With "Teach Me To Forget", The Radio Dept. does not close things out with any real hopeful message.  It sounds more like a heartbreaking fantasy of giving up.

Let's get back to the music.  The Radio Dept. started out with a lot more My Bloody Valentine grime than the New Order like barrage presented today.  Across four albums, this has been a slow transition, so the usual opposition isn't quite as vocal as you would hear from most fanbases.  I've personally enjoyed the transformation.  The heavy synthesized beat that dominates most of the soundscape feels natural, and they have complete control over how it effects the tone of their songs.  I usually prefer rough edges in my music, but Johan's vocals are worth discerning.  They've brought plenty of relevance to their discography by giving each release its own sound.

As far as this album's legacy, there is a hell of a lot to live up to after the heavily praised Pet Grief and Clinging To A Scheme.  The six year gap only gave fans of those albums more time to take in.  Running Out of Love's songs lack that immediate hold "Heaven's on Fire" or "The Worst Taste in Music" do on the listener.  Even going back to songs like that, I clearly imagine them tugging heartstrings in big movie soundtracks.  Everything on this latest release seems dependent on the rest of the entire package to resonate.  I wasn't sure if Running Out of Love has the impact to stand out in their own discography, or in 2016 releases.

Then the U.S. National Election happened.