Lesser Matters

Lesser Matters
Studio album by The Radio Dept.
Released	4 March 2003 (2003-03-04)
Genre	Dream pop indie pop shoegaze
Length	43:10
Label	Labrador Shelflife
Producer	Johan Duncanson Martin Larsson
The Radio Dept. chronology
Lesser Matters (2003) Pet Grief (2006)
Singles from Lesser Matters
"Where Damage Isn't Already Done" Released: 2003 "Why Won't You Talk About It?" Released: 31 May 2004 (2004-05-31) [1] "Ewan" Released: 13 December 2004 (2004-12-13) [2]

Lesser Matters is the debut studio album by Swedish indie pop band The Radio Dept. It was released on 4 March 2003 by Labrador Records. ^[3]

The song "Keen on Boys" was featured in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette , also appearing on the soundtrack to the film. ^[4] "Strange Things Will Happen" was also featured in The Fault in Our Stars . ^[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	84/100 [6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Drowned in Sound	9/10 [8]
Mojo	[9]
NME	9/10 [10]
Now	4/5 [11]
Q	[12]
Uncut	[13]

Lesser Matters received rave reviews from critics. The album holds a rating of 84 out of 100 on the review aggregation website Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim". ^[6] It was ranked the ninth best album of 2004 by NME . ^[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Johan Duncanson, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Too Soon"	Duncanson Martin Larsson	1:17
2.	"Where Damage Isn't Already Done"		2:43
3.	"Keen on Boys"	Duncanson Larsson	4:53
4.	"Why Won't You Talk About It?"		3:08
5.	"It's Been Eight Years"		2:33
6.	"Bus"		2:58
7.	"Slottet #2" (The Castle #2)		3:07
8.	"1995"		3:11
9.	"Against the Tide"		4:23
10.	"Strange Things Will Happen"		4:24
11.	"Your Father"		4:01
12.	"Ewan"		2:23
13.	"Lost and Found"	Duncanson Larsson	4:09
Total length:			43:10

Personnel

Credits for Lesser Matters adapted from album liner notes. ^[15]

The Radio Dept. Johan Duncansson – vocals, guitar, keyboards Martin Larsson – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals Lisa Carlberg – bass, piano Per Blomgren – drums Additional musicians Elin Almered – lead vocals (track 10) Johannes Burström – Roland Juno-60 synthesiser (tracks 3 and 8)

Production Johan Duncansson – mixing, recording Martin Larsson – mixing, recording Thomas Eberger – mastering Artwork and design Elin Almered – cover artwork, painting Mattias Berglund – sleeve design Mårten Carlberg – photography

Charts

Chart (2003–04)	Peak position
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [16]	31
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [17]	29

References

1. "Why Won't You Talk About It? (CD – Rex #35) – The Radio Dept". AllMusic . Retrieved 10 September 2018.
2. "Ewan (CD – XL #XLS 203CD) – The Radio Dept". AllMusic . Retrieved 10 September 2018.
3. "The Radio Dept. – Lesser Matters". Labrador Records . Retrieved 10 September 2018.
4. "Amazon.com Marie Antoinette soundtrack". Amazon. Retrieved 2006-10-27.
5. Various artists, The Fault In Our Stars: Music From The Motion Picture , retrieved 2021-12-06
6. "Reviews for Lesser Matters by The Radio Dept". Metacritic . Retrieved 16 January 2011.
7. Hoffman, K. Ross. "Lesser Matters – The Radio Dept". AllMusic . Retrieved 16 January 2011.
8. Dobson, Gareth (15 November 2004). "Album Review: The Radio Dept. – Lesser Matters". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
9. "The Radio Dept.: Lesser Matters". Mojo (131): 101. October 2004.
10. Nicolson, Barry (20 September 2004). "Radio Dept : Lesser Matters". NME . Archived from the original on 12 July 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
11. Boles, Benjamin (25 September 2004). "The Radio Dept". Now . Retrieved 22 February 2020.
12. "The Radio Dept.: Lesser Matters". Q (219): 129. October 2004.
13. "The Radio Dept.: Lesser Matters". Uncut (88): 100. September 2004.
14. "NME End Of Year Lists 2004". Rocklist.net. 9 January 2011. Archived from the original on November 18, 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
15. Lesser Matters (liner notes). The Radio Dept. Labrador Records. 2003. LAB035.
16. "Swedishcharts.com – The Radio Dept. – Lesser Matters". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
17. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 July 2018.