The Radio Dept. | Freddie and the Trojan Horse

I’ll make no bones about it: The Radio Dept. has been one of my favorite bands since they released their debut EP, Where the Damage Isn’t Already Done, in 2002. When I heard a handful of their tracks sampled on the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, I was thrilled for the Swedes’ brush with fame. Now the boys are gearing up to release their third full-length (title to be determined) on Labrador Records sometime in September.

In advance of the long player–and as is their custom–The Radio Dept. will be preceding the release with a new EP. Freddie and the Trojan Horse is due out June 4th, but Labrador has shared the title track with all of us indie-pop fans. By all accounts, the song seems to follow the band’s trajectory away from dense, lo-fi production toward a sharper sound where instruments are given more clarity. Still in effect are the band’s beloved drum machine tracks and the synth and piano bits they favored on their last record, Pet Grief. “Freddie and the Trojan Horse” would have been a nice b-side to the band’s recent “We Made the Team” digital-only single, sharing that track’s bounce and crispness.