Sweden's Radio Dept. have spent their career to date quietly building up a devoted fanbase by filtering traditional indie and dream-pop sounds through an electronic haze. They've admirably honored their genre's history every step of the way, incorporating elements of vintage Slumberland noise-pop, sadder 80s UK indie sounds, and the kind of romantic, low-key dance-pop typically associated with Saint Etienne, or more recently, the Tough Alliance. The band's relatively low profile is partly due to the infrequency of their output: Up to now, they've released only two LPs throughout their 13-year career, along with a handful of EPs and singles.
As with their last two albums, Clinging to a Scheme stands to further expand the Radio Dept.'s cult. Economy has never been an issue for the band, but here, things are further tightened up: Clocking in at just 34 minutes, this album is their shortest and most finely-tuned yet, moving at a rapid clip while maintaining a sense of balance and even pacing-- a pretty remarkable show of restraint and dedication for a record that has ostensibly been in the works for four years. (Their last full-length, Pet Grief, was released way back in 2006.) The improved fidelity helps, too: These songs sparkle with striking clarity in contrast to past works, while retaining all the glowing, sun-soaked ambiance that's become a signature.
Clinging to a Scheme shows the Radio Dept. working with an extended range of sounds. While the core elements of these songs will be plenty familiar to longtime fans, the band manages to tweak the formula slightly for each track. The sparkly, Balearic "Heaven's on Fire" and the downbeat dub of "Never Follow Suit" are clear highlights, particularly on first spin. But repeat plays reveal this record's almost bottomless depth, as different tracks and subtle elements gradually reveal themselves with each listen: The sugar-rushed urgency of "This Time Around" or the complex "David", which is sunny and bright musically but lyrically wistful, are just two of eight other reasons this album rewards every ounce of attention you give it.
Great songs, higher fidelity: It should be a recipe for contentment, yet frontman Johan Duncanson remains discouraged by life's challenges. "Seemed like a good idea at one time/ But now it's all wrong," he sings on opener "Domestic Scene", and it doesn't get any cheerier from there. Although the Radio Dept. weren't regularly active until 1998, the project was concieved by Duncanson three years earlier along with a few schoolmates; in other words, his lyrics have been rooted in boyhood melancholia since day one. Duncanson doesn't show any signs of leaving that behind on Clinging to a Scheme, uttering lines in "A Token of Gratitude" that evoke pure melodrama: "Do I love you?/ Yes, I love you/ But easy come, easy go."
But that's part of The Radio Dept.'s charm and identity, and the music itself is generally brighter, which makes for an engaging contrast while preventing the tone of the songs from becoming maudlin. The strongest moments on Clinging to a Scheme, such as the aforementioned "Heaven's on Fire" and "Never Follow Suit", are effortlessly catchy and upbeat. Album closer "You Stopped Making Sense" is especially cloud-clearing, as Duncanson hits his upper register among deliciously bent guitar strings, moaning about another love lost. It's a bittersweet ending for Clinging to a Scheme, but for the Radio Dept.'s already decade-plus career, it may be a whole new beginning.
