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New
album STEALING OF A NATION - released Sep.
7, 2004
"Do your life justice." Those are the words at the
end of the song "Nation," the cornerstone of Radio
4's third album, Stealing Of A Nation. Whether you consider
the lyric a demand of our leaders or a reminder to ourselves,
the point is this: Radio 4 feel a sense of purpose, and they
want to share it with you. With Stealing Of A Nation, the follow-up
to 2002's highly-acclaimed Gotham!, that's precisely what they
do.
Produced
by Max Heyes (Doves, Primal Scream) and recorded in Radio 4's
hometown, New York City, Stealing Of A Nation is an aural attack
of widely varied ingredients that comes together with pinpoint
precision. Futuristic dance beats mate with traditional punk
values; dub bass lines bed down with techno keyboards and funk
guitar riffs; polyrhythmic percussion breaks get busy with acoustic
guitars. And it all sounds like the most natural thing in the
world. From the dark propellant groove of lead single "Party
Crashers" to the drum-less humid atmospherics of the finale,
"Coming Up Empty," Stealing Of A Nation is the album
Radio 4 have been building towards since first coming together
five years ago. Their influences are now implied rather than
worn on their sleeves like badges. Radio 4 sound like...Radio
4.
The title, Stealing Of A Nation, is a powerful statement, one
which Roman admits could be applied to the theft of the 2000
Election, the invasion of Iraq, and the current Administration's
denial of core, positive American values. But it's also a word
play on a revered 1979 reggae song, Jacob Miller's "Healing
Of The Nation." For Stealing Of A Nation, the group secured
a 24-7 deal in a new Brooklyn studio, several feet underground
in a converted urban warehouse, so they could record when the
muse took them without having to watch the clock. "That's
how we like it," says Roman, "A bunch of people sitting
round drinking beer and throwing ideas around. That's how we
work." Because for all their sense of purpose, Radio 4
are primarily about enjoying themselves. "We're not a high
pressure band. We don't ever force ourselves to write or record.
If we were gonna operate like that we would have just got regular
jobs." It all comes back to the central premise: Do your
life justice.
"With
their splashy, trebly guitars and snotty vocals, Radio 4 recall
beat-happy punks from The Clash on down."
- Spin
"...the
only new-new-wave band that matters" - CMJ
New Music Monthly
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Catch
Radio 4 LIVE: |
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Wed.,
July 21 - Farmingdale, NY - Downtown
Thu., July 22 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
Fri., July 23 - Wilkes-Barre, PA - Café Metropolis
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