July 6, 2004

The Radio Dept : Why Won't You Talk About It?

Swedish people who have formed a top-hole pop group...

It would be difficult for me to imagine liking this record any more than
I actually do right at this very
moment. Call me a sentimental
old Susan, but whenever I hear a guitar getting overloaded and strangled to the point where it begins screaming in tortured agony, all I hear is the
most sublime, beautiful noise. As it was with The Jesus
And Mary Chain[/url] and, more pertinently, the deeply
wonderful Flying Saucer Attack, so it is with The Radio Dept.

As for the song, it sounds to me like someone's had
a barney with their squeeze and has retreated to a nearby barn to make a noise like a backfiring combine harvester while griping away about how she doesn't understand
him. This is, in all honesty, heroic behaviour and actually the only real reason there is to listen to pop music in the first place. If it weren't for infuriating partners we'd all
have to pack up and go home as there'd be nothing left
to say. Luckily, the world is full of them, so there's no danger on that score.
Anyhow, imagine 'Why Won't You Talk About It?' as
a sturdy tin bucket and picture the squalling feedback
and dreamily melodic - although barely there - vocals slopping about inside. Watch it, some's going over the edge! Now imagine tipping the whole lot over your own head and feeling the contents cover you completely.
Feels good, yes? What do you mean, no? Are you some
sort of pervert?

The Radio Dept, from Malmo if you're interested, are
the sort of band who you wish you were in as soon as
you hear them, which is a good start. That the other four tracks on this single are as good as the first makes me
want to expire with joy.

Rob Fitzpatrick