Detail of the cover illustration of Ladies' Home Journal, February 1929
Because I'm a borderline-crazy person who likes pointless rules, I have a policy of not buying most kinds of compilations (greatest hits, singles collections, etc). If a song on a compilation is also available on a full-length album, I risk paying for the same song twice (knowing, of course, that I'm going to like the compilation's songs well enough to want the albums they come from). It's driven by fiscal responsibility (never pay for the same song twice!), but I am wracked with cognitive dissonance when I see a reasonably-priced compilation packed with great songs. Take the new Radio Dept. compilation Passive Aggressive, for instance - two full-length CDs for under fifteen bucks, and only seven of the songs are from Radio Dept. albums. I don't have any of those albums yet, but I have heard a few Radio Dept. songs, and I know that this is a group worth a little cognitive dissonance.
I first heard about the Radio Dept. about eight years ago, when the "nu-shoegaze" tag was getting tossed around. This Swedish group doesn't really fit that tag perfectly, though - they are interested in big layered sounds, but there's a meticulous and often serene approach to their music that has more in common with indie pop. The melodies remind me of the Field Mice more than anything else. They know how to craft a good single, though - and the fourteen chronologically-compiled a-sides on the first disc of Passive Aggressive show a consistent dedication to the Radio Dept. approach, with enough variety to prevent monotony. In fact, it's hard to believe that there is eight years worth of singles here - the early tracks are a little rough around the edges, but this is obviously a band that decided early on what they were all about - clicking drum-machine rhythms, delicate cobweb layers of synths and trebly guitar, and hazily-slurred vocals.
The seven album singles are quite good, and the non-album a-sides don't come across as filler at all. The most recent singles from last year's Clinging to a Scheme LP appeal to me the most (I'm tracking that one down next), but the 2003 standalone single "Pulling Our Weight" is an early highlight, as is their cover of the Go-Betweens' "Bachelor Kisses" (from 2008). And the b-sides collection is quite good as well - this is important, as it's the disc I'm likely to return to more once I have the other Radio Dept. albums. With more song sketches and instrumental tracks mixed in, it's not a relentless barrage of hooks and melodies like the a-sides disc, but it has a coincidental flow and balance in its chronological arrangement that makes it the more album-like disc in the set.
And Passive Aggressive's second disc has its share of highlights as well, particularly the band's most recent b-sides - "By Your Side" (from the "Never Follow Suit" EP) is one of the best. It has a sweet melody and a sparser arrangement than most Radio Dept. tracks, giving the individual elements a chance to make an impression. Things really pick up over the final chorus, as picked acoustic guitar, synths, and string samples pile on for a big finish.
"On Your Side" by the Radio Dept.
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