The Radio Dept.

In Lund, Sweden, The Radio Dept. coalesced around Johan Duncanson and Martin Larsson in the late 1990s, later finding its shape in the early 2000s with Daniel Tjäder among close collaborators. Their sound sits between dream pop, shoegaze, indie pop and synth-pop inflections, with English-language songs that combine veiled guitars, subtle drum machines, hazy keyboards and often restrained vocals. After a run of singles and EPs, the band released Lesser Matters in 2003 and Pet Grief in 2006, the latter highlighting a more synthetic songwriting approach and moving away from the early saturation. Clinging to a Scheme appeared in 2010, followed by Running Out of Love in 2016. In 2011 The Radio Dept. compiled some of their shorter tracks on Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002–2010. Three of their songs also feature on Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette soundtrack. Long associated with the Swedish label Labrador, The Radio Dept. later pursued a more independent path while remaining true to a melodic, hushed and intermittently political aesthetic.