The Radio Dept.

Biography

The Radio Dept. is a Swedish dream pop band from Lund. They have released four studio albums.

History

In 1995, schoolmates Elin Almered and Johan Duncanson started a band which they named after a gas-station-turned-radio-repair-shop called "Radioavdelningen" (Swedish for The Radio Department). However, Almered and Duncanson soon stopped playing music together, putting the outfit on hiatus. Three years later, in 1998, Duncanson started making music again but now with Martin Larsson and they decided to adopt the same name. In 2001, Larsson's then girlfriend Lisa Carlberg joined the group on bass, followed by Per Blomgren on drums and Daniel Tjäder on keyboards.
Later in 2001, the Radio Dept. sent recordings to music magazine Sonic, receiving a positive review and being featured on the free CD sampler that came with the magazine. Labrador Records heard them on the disc and signed them to their label. The band's debut album Lesser Matters×Lesser Matters24 February 2003 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 13 tracksA1Too SoonA2Where Damage Isn’t Already DoneA3Keen on BoysA4Why Won’t You Talk About It?A5It’s Been Eight YearsA6BusA7Slottet #2B11995B2Against the TideB3Strange Things Will HappenB4Your FatherB5EwanB6Lost and Found (2003) was well received by the music press, scoring 9 out of 10 in the NME. Per Blomgren left the Radio Dept. prior to the release of this album and Lisa Carlberg departed after the release of This Past Week×This Past Week19 January 2005 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1This Past Week5:172Deliverance3:353I Don’t Like It Like This4:134Värnhem0:535Let Me Have This3:40 EP. According to their website, the band decided to use digital drum tracks and stated that for their second album they were "taking a new direction ... which wouldn't require a member that played bass guitar." NME would rank Lesser Matters ninth on their list of the 50 best albums of 2004. The album received an 84/100 (Universal acclaim) on Metacritic from a total of five reviews.
The group enjoyed a slightly more widespread recognition after three tracks ("Pulling Our Weight×Pulling Our Weight19 November 2003 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Pulling Our Weight3:212We Climb the Wired Fences4:123I Don’t Need Love, I’ve Got My Band3:144Someone Else2:185The City Limit5:53", "I Don't Like It Like This" and "Keen on Boys") were included on the soundtrack for Sofia Coppola's film Marie Antoinette.
Early 2006 saw the release of their second album, Pet Grief×Pet Grief12 April 2006 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1It's Personal3:382Pet Grief3:103A Window3:284I Wanted You to Feel the Same2:315South Side1:176The Worst Taste in Music (extended)3:217Every Time3:448What Will Give?4:319Gibraltar1:3510Sleeping In3:3211Tell3:1012Always a Relief3:21. The distorted buzz that adorned most of their debut was now replaced by synthesizer. The album didn't reach the rest of Europe, including the UK until later in 2006. With little touring support, there was no real buzz behind Pet Grief. Reviews were mixed. NME rated the album with a 7 out of 10, but other magazines were less positive. However, it did find popularity amongst a growing fan base throughout the world, thanks to the internet. The album is available in the US through Darla and through their US distribution deal with Labrador.
At the end of 2006, a new track, "We Made the Team×We Made the Team6 October 2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1We Made the Team3:40", was released as the 100th release on the Labrador. It was also the final track on the Labrador's labels Compilation of 100 tracks released at the beginning of 2007.
The band released a new EP in May 2008 entitled Freddie And The Trojan Horse×Freddie and the Trojan Horse4 June 2008 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Freddie and the Trojan Horse3:142Closing Scene4:163The Room, Tarzana2:344[untitled]2:11 on Labrador Records. Another EP, David×David24 June 2009 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1David3:322Messy Enough3:283David (The Rice Twins Remix)4:314The Idle Urban Contemporaries1:57, was released on 24 June 2009. The song "David" was also made available for download at no cost by Labrador Records. The band released their third album, Clinging to a Scheme×Clinging to a Scheme31 March 2010 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Domestic Scene2Heaven’s on Fire3This Time Around4Never Follow Suit5A Token of Gratitude6The Video Dept.7Memory Loss8David9Four Months in the Shade10You Stopped Making Sense11Freddie and the Trojan Horse12All About Our Love, on 20 April 2010.
In January 2011, their first compilation album, Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002–2010×Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002–201025 January 2011 · Album · CompilationSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 28 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Why Won’t You Talk About It?3:112Where Damage Isn’t Already Done2:473Annie Laurie2:554Ewan2:265Pulling Our Weight3:246This Past Week5:147The Worst Taste in Music2:548We Made the Team3:309Bachelor Kisses3:4310Freddie and the Trojan Horse3:1311David3:3212Heaven’s on Fire3:3413Never Follow Suit4:0914The New Improved Hypocrisy4:03Disc 21Liebling2:542We Would Fall Against the Tide3:203You and Me Then?1:284Peace of Mind3:275Tåget0:566Slottet2:597What You Sell3:118Mad About the Boy3:289Closing Scene4:1610Messy Enough3:2711The Idle Urban Contemporaries1:5812All About Our Love3:1413On Your Side3:1614The One3:05, was released. It contained all the A-sides released by the band and many of the B-sides and other rarities. That year they were nominated at the Swedish Grammis in the categories "Album of the Year" and "Band of the Year". In 2011, the band began a tour in the United States and Mexico; in 2012 they visited Latin America, and in 2013 they toured in Turkey and other countries of Asia.
The group' fourth album, Running Out of Love×Running Out of Love21 October 2016 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Sloboda Narodu3:142Swedish Guns5:353We Got Game4:154Thieves of State1:165Occupied7:196This Thing Was Bound to Happen3:127Can’t Be Guilty4:368Committed to the Cause5:499Running Out of Love3:3010Teach Me to Forget6:08, was released on 21 October 2016. Running Out of Love was shortlisted by IMPALA (The Independent Music Companies Association) for the Album of the Year Award 2016, an award for the best album released on an independent European label.
In August 2018, the band released the single "Going Down Swinging×Going Down Swinging31 August 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Going Down Swinging4:25".
In 2019, Radio Dept. released the LP I Don't Need Love, I've Got My Band, which compiled songs from the EPs Pulling Our Weight and This Past Week. The album was released on their new label, Just So Records.
In 2026, the band confirmed their return to live performance with a headline date at London's KOKO on 3 November 2026, as part of Pitchfork Music Festival London, their first London appearance in nearly a decade, following a 2017 show at Scala. The band also confirmed via social media that new music was in progress and that a vinyl reissue of Pet Grief was planned for some time after summer 2026.

Contract dispute and transition to independence

Between 2002 and 2016, The Radio Dept. was signed to the Swedish indie label Labrador Records under a multi-album contract. In an interview with Sveriges Radio, the band revealed that they had not fully understood the terms of the agreement when they signed it, including clauses that gave Labrador ownership of their master recordings and a publishing contract that extended for the duration of their lives plus 70 years.
As tensions grew over royalties, ownership rights, and creative control, the band attempted to fulfill their contractual obligations with the 2011 compilation Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002–2010×Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002–201025 January 2011 · Album · CompilationSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 28 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Why Won’t You Talk About It?3:112Where Damage Isn’t Already Done2:473Annie Laurie2:554Ewan2:265Pulling Our Weight3:246This Past Week5:147The Worst Taste in Music2:548We Made the Team3:309Bachelor Kisses3:4310Freddie and the Trojan Horse3:1311David3:3212Heaven’s on Fire3:3413Never Follow Suit4:0914The New Improved Hypocrisy4:03Disc 21Liebling2:542We Would Fall Against the Tide3:203You and Me Then?1:284Peace of Mind3:275Tåget0:566Slottet2:597What You Sell3:118Mad About the Boy3:289Closing Scene4:1610Messy Enough3:2711The Idle Urban Contemporaries1:5812All About Our Love3:1413On Your Side3:1614The One3:05, which was rejected by the label as counting toward the album quota. The dispute eventually led to a legal case, which the band lost in the lower court of Sweden, but later settled. Under the terms of the settlement, The Radio Dept. regained control of their back catalogue, including master and publishing rights.
Following this, the band significantly reduced new output and refrained from major releases until the contractual period concluded. In the years after the dispute, they began releasing music and merchandise through their own imprint, Just So! Records, which serves as their independent label for future releases and reissues.
In 2023, the band signed a publishing agreement with Kobalt Music, formally severing their ties with Labrador Records.

Musical style

The Radio Dept. are related to such genres as alternative rock, dream pop, indie pop, shoegaze and twee pop, with reviews comparing them to Pet Shop Boys, My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins. AllMusic said they were "an indie rock band who play fuzzed-out, ramshackle pop songs."
In an interview on their fansite, they cite influences such as Charles Aznavour, Saint Etienne, Broadcast, Frank Sinatra, Joy Division, Pet Shop Boys, Chet Baker, Fennesz, Nick Drake, Kevin Rowland, Prefab Sprout, Paddy McAloon, Junior Boys, Orange Juice, Kraftwerk, Neu!, Jonathan Richman, The Avalanches and The Pale Fountains.

Band members

Current
Johan Duncanson
Martin Carlberg, né Larsson
Daniel Tjäder (touring member)
Past
Elin Almered (1995)
Lisa Carlberg (2001–2005)
Per Blomgren (2001–2003)
Kim Sjölander
Max Weiland