Tune In to The Radio Dept.

By Sarah Cobarrubias in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 27, 2011 6:20PM

It’s hard not to love The Radio Dept. The Swedish sweethearts have been honing their skills since the mid ‘90s, crafting their brand of sweet, hazy electro dream-pop and discreetly accumulating a national fan base. Since the April release of their third full-length, Clinging to a Scheme, things have really begun to pick up for the band, and they’ve been nominated for two Swedish Grammy Awards: “Band of the Year” and “Album of the Year.”

The three-piece has kept the ball rolling into 2011 with the release this week of Passive-Aggressive, a 28-track collection highlighting the band’s rarest singles from the past eight years. And to celebrate the release, The Radio Dept. will ship out next week to kick off a 13-stop trek across the states - their biggest U.S. tour yet. They’ll swing by Chicago February 8 to play two shows at the Empty Bottle: an early show at 7 p.m. and a late show at 10 p.m.. California Shoegaze act Young Prisms will open both. In the meantime, check out this new-ish video for their single “Never Follow Suit”:

The Radio Dept. plays Tuesday, February 8 at the Empty Bottle, 1035 N Western, 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., $12, 21+