From the moment you hear the syncopated beats you are thinking some kind of 80’s dance jam ala Blue Monday or Bizarre Love Triangle is on the way. Not exactly, as the song settles in to a more chilled groove with slightly disaffected vocals – but that is kind of the charm of The Radio Dept. As the song continues, the bouncy synths invoke Royksopp and Technique-era New Order.
Occupied is the 2nd new track to drop this past week from The Radio Dept as It Looked Like Heaven (But Feels Like Hell) from the same single was available as well. It’s been 5 years since their last full length, “Clinging To A Scheme” and this is a welcome sign of things to come.
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Author: Scott Zumberg
https://www.mixcloud.com/scottzumberg/ Scott Zumberg had music in his blood from an early age, a member of the Kiss Army at age 7, obsessed with Def Leppard's Pyromania and Old School Rap. He discovered the Big 4: Depeche Mode, New Order, The Cure and The Smiths, paving the way to discovering other up and coming artists and sharing them with the world.
He was a college radio DJ at Michigan State University, later hosting various club nights in the Detroit area, co-hosting the Aural Bliss show on Auralgasms and Sound and Vision on Strangeways Radio. He still posts mixes of various themes and genres as Stereo Honey on Mixcloud.
Scott is an avid vinyl enthusiast and loves to read music bios, many of which you can find reviews of here on Strangeways.