Go Radio “Lucky Street” – Album Review

I understand this review is somewhat out of date because of the album’s release on March 1, 2011, but I feel like it is still a fairly new record and not enough people appreciate this band.

Go Radio is a pop/rock band from Tallahassee, Florida that was formed by the former vocalist/guitarist of Mayday Parade.  His name is Jason Lancaster.  His unnatural “lazy tongue” vocal technique quickly arms Go Radio with a unique set of traits that make this band stand out from the rest.

Go Radio is a band rose to fame for 2 main reasons.  The first being that they had one extremely popular song.  This song is called “Goodnight Moon.”  This song is not off of Lucky Street, but rather from Go Radio’s EP called Do Overs And Second Chances.  This beautiful ballad immediately reminds me of Secondhand Serenade’s “Fall For You”.  Not to mention the fact that the title alone makes this song special.  Anyone of any age should be able to recognize the title of the inspirational children’s book “Goodnight Moon”.  If you have trouble remembering it, the story is basically about a young boy wishing everything in his house and around him “Goodnight”.

The second reason for Go Radio’s rapid uprising is the fact that they rode somewhat along the coattails of Jason Lancaster’s previous band.  Many of the dedicated Mayday Parade fans followed along  both paths once Jason Lancaster left (or got the boot, nobody quite knows).  This helped the band a great deal especially when it came to touring constantly with Mayday.

Personally, I got on the Mayday Parade/Go Radio bandwagon at a somewhat late start.  I had heard some of the Mayday hits such as “Jamie All Over” and “Miserable At Best” here and there but never took notice of these until this past year or so.  Then around spring of 2011 I heard Go Radio and it sounded awfully familiar.  I did a little research and soon enough found the connection.

I saw Go Radio for the first time at The Vans Warped Tour 2011 in Ventura, California and boy that was quite a treat.  Their set was at 8:00 on the Nintendo 3DS stage.  They would be one of the final performances of the night and I was very satisfied with the outcome.  At the time the only song I knew was “Goodnight Moon”, but after playing numerous songs from their new record, Lucky Street, I was immediately addicted and thus began my fanhood of Go Radio.

When I got home that night I bought this album and I got my money’s worth!  The fair balance of the ballads and full-band songs sits well with someone of my musical background.  I am a huge fan of songs that have dramatic intros with piano and soft vocals which then lead into a full-band chorus.

At its entirety, Lucky Street has a few songs that really stand out.  “Any Other Heart”, the second song off the album, is probably one of my favorites.  The minute this song filled my ears I knew it would be one of their big ones.  Other songs such as “Why I’m Home” and “House of Hallways” really struck me with this inspirational feeling.  On the other hand, this record was not one of perfection.  Throughout the album I had trouble distinguishing one song from another and found this to be a common attribute.  Although they seem to have set it up in a alternating ballad-uptempo-ballad lineup, I continue to have problems differentiating the songs.

After listening to Lucky Street a few times I feel as if it is a really brilliant start to a band with a lot of potential.  I really hope to hear more out of these guys.  I would have to give this album an 7.5/10.  Definitely a must-have record for any fans of Mayday Parade, The Maine, or Secondhand Serenade.