Radio Dept

From about 2003 to 2008 I had to travel to Sweden quite often with work which apart from the flying and the price of a pint was quite agreeable, I like the Swedes, quite laid back, nothing seems to phase them and they have a great knack for mediation, especially when some French Study leader is going mental telling them things can't be done like that and if they insist on doing it that way then they (The French team) will pull out. I know that this is a sweeping generalisation and playing to national stereotypes but I speak as I find and I have yet to meet any who go into meltdown at the prospect of an unrealistic deadline or an impossible protocol.

Anyway, my frequent trips to sometimes Gothenburg but mostly Lund coincided with what appeared to me to be a Swedish bid for world domination of Indie music. You couldn't swing a stick in indie circles without hitting another cracking single from the likes of Sambassadeur, The Acid Kings, The Concretes etc. One of my favourites was a band called The Radio Dept. As this band was from Lund and was named after a local petrol station come radio repair shop I thought that I could discuss them with my colleague Klaus when I was over next as he looked like an indie kid, well, come to think of it most of the workforce under 40 looked like your typical indie band follower, But when I mentioned then, he didn't have a clue who I was talking about and I knew that it wasn't my English he had trouble with as we could discuss the merits of certain EDC edit checks and clean file procedures all day long, it was just that he and everybody else I talked to had no idea how much esteem their indie bands were held in in the UK. He was quite pleased and rather surprised that I did not give a jot about Abba.

Here is the first single that I heard from the band and which made me seek out more and if you like this I would suggest starting with the debut album Lesser Matters.

The Radio Dept. - Where Damage Isn't Already Done