Album Review: Go Radio - Close The Distance

Album Rating: B-

Go Radio had the reputation of being possibly one of the most forward looking bands on the Fearless Records roster. Vocalist and songwriter Jason Lancaster was among the best in the scene, and even while debut album Lucky Street had its ups and downs, it showed the potential of a band who could make pop rock that was catchy, intelligent, and still kept their own sound. On their second album Close The Distance, there was hope that they'd leap to the next level, combining the power and intensity of Lancaster's voice with even better songwriting. Instead they are now settling into a safe, radio friendly pop rock band.

Live Review: Go Radio & This Providence, Baltimore Soundstage (4/3/12)

The Fearless Records/Fueled By Ramen pop-rock scene seems to have stagnated over the last year. Between 2008 and 2010, bands such as Mayday Parade, Every Avenue, A Rocket To The Moon, Forever The Sickest Kids, The Maine, and basically every other band that has supported All Time Low on a tour were amongst the biggest bands in the Warped Tour crowd, selling out large clubs and receiving herds of teenage fans. Their popularity led to hundreds of copycat bands, very few of which were amounted to anything. But as the new wave of pop-punk rose up, it seemed as though many of these bands fell off the face of the planet. Luckily, This Providence's independent return to the scene and Go Radio's sure to be strong sophomore full length have brought some of that energy back into that mostly forgotten scene.

Go Radio Full Acoustic Set

Surprisingly, I happened to be at an acoustic Go Radio set at the Best Buy in Union Square, New York City today. With this excellent opportunity, I took video of every one of the band's five songs, which can all be seen below. A quick show review will be up tomorrow.



Setlist:
Hold On
Singing With The King
House Of Hallways
Goodnight Moon (sound cuts off at 4:00)
Why I'm Home

Go Radio - Lucky Street Stream/Initial Impressions

As easily one of my most anticipated records up to this point in the year, I can't help but feel some slight disappointment. Jason Lancaster has always been a superb vocalist and songwriter, but something feels missing from his voice and a couple of the tracks. Opening track "Lucky Street" just seems to bore me, especially in the chorus, and Jason seems to be missing that second gear to his voice. "Any Other Heart" is Jason and Go Radio at their best, with an absolutely killer chorus with an outstanding hook. The album doesn't get back up to the level of "Any Other Heart" until "Swear It Like You Mean It". The song gives the initial impression of a piano ballad, but turns into a huge rocker. Jason returns to give chills during the bridge, which is probably the best point on the album to this point. The redone "Why I'm Home" and "Why I'm Home" put Jason alone with a piano, allowing him to recite some of his best lyrics. The rest of the album features a few changes for Go Radio, including a bouncy acoustic guitar and a somewhat disjointed phrase structure in "Hold On", a Mariachi sounding horn section at the intro of "Fight, Fight (Reach For The Sky), and a guitar solo at the end of that same track. "The Truth Is" ends the album with another piano ballad, though it doesn't stand up to the two redone tracks or "Goodnight Moon". Overall, the album is solid, though I'm not too sure how it will stand up to the test of time. Jason's vocals at time seem very bland, and some of the hooks aren't up to par. However, the album is full of some very solid tracks. Myspace quality may as well take away from some of the song quality, but I guess I'll have to wait and see how it ends up in my collection by the end of the year. Stream the album on the band's Myspace page here.

Go Radio Album Announcement

Go Radio will be releasing their first full length album, Lucky Street, with Fearless Records on March 1st, 2011.  Led by Jason Lancaster, the writing genius and stronger vocalist on Mayday Parade's A Lesson In Romantics, Go Radio released a great EP earlier this year which is on my favorites EPs list. Mayday's newer album was atrocious, and Go Radio is more than capable of creating the older Mayday Parade sound. Link to the original facebook post is here. Tracklisting can be found below the jump.

First Five Warped Bands Announced

Warped Tour is announcing their bands a little bit differently this year. Every week from now until late March they will be announcing about five bands a week, with the main stage bands coming last. The first five announced are Every Avenue, Go Radio, Dance Gavin Dance, We Came As Romans, and The Word Alive. Every Avenue is extremely solid pop-rock in the All Time Low vein, and will be releasing their third record around that time. Go Radio includes Jason Lancaster, ex singer of Mayday Parade, and creates music as good if not better than Mayday Parade's A Lesson In Romantics. DanceGavinDance is intriguing due to the return of one of my favorite singers, Jonny Craig, back to the band. However, after seeing him with Emarosa last year I do not have any intention of wanting to see him. We Came As Romans and The World Alive are basically generic metalcore (WCAR with synth/autotune). The first five bands are solid, as I would see Every Avenue and Go Radio, though I'm hoping for some can't miss bands later on.