New Music: The Radio Dept. – “David”

Photo by Shiver_Shi

The Radio Dept. has a thing for names lately. Since 2006’s Pet Grief, the Swedish synth-maudlinists’ masterpiece-so-far, they’ve released a pair of EPs with masculine title tracks: Freddie & The Trojan Horse and the upcoming David. It’s not clear who these fellas are, but the band doesn’t sound happy with them. The Radio Dept. are usually the type of wallflower rockers who sing about lost love and romantic rivals, but “David” pushes the aggression up a notch. For once, the band puts the beat on top. “David’s” percussion goes straight for the subwoofer, thick and square at the front of the mix. Under it, though, lies vintage Radio Dept., twinkling and fading into some android’s electric sheep.

The Radio Dept. – “David”: mp3

(David is out June 24 on Labrador)