The Radio Dept.
Pulling Our Weight EP

In the new wave of "shoe gazers," the Radio Dept. are among the most interesting groups, alongside M83. Predictable in bringing back melodies hidden among the sonic clouds typical of bands like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive (the latter, in my opinion, being the most imitated), but not negligible for this reason, quite the contrary.

"Pulling Our Weight" is an EP released in 2003 by Labrador, the same year as "Lesser Matters," the debut full-length of the Swedish combo, which remains their most complete and engaging as well.

The EP in question presents five tracks, sweet and calm dreamy melodies, halfway between Orange Juice and Jesus & Mary Chain, where keyboard sound carpets stand out, the most highlighted component of their sound that partly recalls certain sounds especially from "Souvlaki" by Slowdive, with the due artistic difference. A short and relaxing journey in the dead of night, cradled by a soft cloud in the sky, flying over the world until the edge of the city ("The City Limit"), this is the sensation of this mini-album (just as depicted in the video of the title track), an irresistible stress-reliever that makes you want to listen to it repeatedly, the duration and format of the work ensure an ideal compactness.

If you think that only a small dose listen of this genre or of these recent bands, pleasant yet derivative, is necessary, this record is definitely recommended, I even prefer it to the other two subsequent works "Pet Grief" from 2006 and "Clinging To a Scheme" of this year.