It’s not that much more than a year since the debut Go Radio album dropped, and ‘Close The Distance’ follows a fairly strong chart showing from the Floridian alt rockers. Now back with ‘Close The Distance’, it’s safe to say that Go Radio are carrying the torch aloft for OC-core alt rock emo well beyond the realms of needless crying montages, with some of the most radio friendly rock music you’ll likely hear this year.
Each song has been crafted to be a potential single – no mean feat – and each of those singles would have one of “those” videos – you know the sort…
a) boy meets girl, girl and boy spend summer together, girl leaves boy, boy appears outside of girl’s window, girl and boy have a kiss (no sex because this is a family video)
b) boy meets girl, girl and boy fall in love, boy goes to war, boy ends up in hospital, girl stays with boy through coma, girl and boy grow old together
c) ugly boy loves girl, girl is shallow and wants the quarterback, girl realise quarterback is a dick, boy and girl kiss under the bleachers (no sex)
You get the idea. It’s mid-tempo, posters-on-walls non-shock rock for who those will hit their teens in the next few years and Mayday Parade fans who pretended that they were into them for the music. Obvious cynicism aside, the band should be given credit for putting together a cohesive and consistent record. It’s an album sure to be lapped up by thousands of fans, and though you’ll probably have to cringe a few times listening to it if you’ve escaped puberty, the band are hardly pretending to be anything except for what they are. That said, if you think this isn’t for you then stay as far away as you can possibly imagine.
TOM AYLOTT