The Radio Dept have never been one of those bands who tour incessantly. In fact, a part of their elusiveness is down to the fact that they are hard to catch live, even in their home country Sweden.
45 minutes late, after local support act Secret Shine has treated us to some 90s heart on the sleeve- indie , the three indie boys take to the stage, blaming technical difficulties for the wait. As an exile-Swede, I find it reassuring that two of them sport hipster mustaches. All is well and as it should in the homeland then.
Opening the set is Domestic Scene, also the opening track from their latest album Clinging to a Scheme that was released last spring. The Radio Dept has always been the soundtrack to spring, and I kind of wish they would play...oh, on an outside stage under a setting sun, on a yacht, on a city side walk under birch trees, accompanying all lonely night dwellers home. It’s music to sit down to, to fall asleep to, utterly sophisticated and soothing.
The crowd is friendly, dispite the wait in the stuffy (but legendary) venue, The Fleece. The Fleece has had a complete overhaul in their bookings policy (and a change of owners I suspect): Out with the tribute bands, in with pure quality. If they only could do something about the total lack of fresh air in the local, I would probably live there.
The set consist of a very good spread of their work so far, from first album Lesser Matters, all the way through singles and EPs, second studio album Pet Grief up to the latest album. Their mini-tour of UK has now ended and they are heading to US and Canada. I can only hope that they won’t keep us waiting for long before their next visit. Anybody got a yacht we can use?
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