Close the Distance


Close the Distance is the second and final studio album by American rock band Go Radio. The album was produced by James Paul Wisner and was released September 18, 2012 on Fearless.

Background and production

In the early stages of writing for a new album, Reed was in Philadelphia while the remainder of the band were based across Florida. They built upon ideas and wrote individually before sending the ideas over email; this process lasted around a month. They later met up again in Tallahassee, Florida in a home studio and evolved the ideas into songs. They did this ten hours a day, six days a week for four weeks straight. Pre-production followed a month later with James Paul Wisner, where they whittled down 35 demos to 11 for the final album. In January 2012, the group entered the studio to start work on Close the Distance. They worked on one song at a time, and moved on to another when the preceding one was completed. They decided to follow this method after seeing documentaries on U2 and Foo Fighters working on their albums.
Opting away from the large guitar sounds of their contemporaries, the group brought in different amps and guitars, and aimed on getting purer tones. In late February, three-quarters through the sessions, the band started working with instrument manufacturer New Vintage Amps, and upon them sending a test model amplifier to the group, they started re-recording a number of sections. Reed played a Gibson Les Paul Standard guitar through a New Vintage H&B 50 amp, which was connected to a New Vintage 4x12 cabinet. Lancaster played various Fender and Gibson guitars, also through a New Vintage H&B 50 amp. Wisney mixed all of the recordings except for "I Won't Lie" and "Go to Hell", which were done by Mark Endert.

Composition

Close the Distance has been described as a pop rock release, with elements of indie folk, and drew comparisons to Counting Crows. The record is more piano-and-string focused, which Reed attributed to his classical musician parents and orchestra teachers growing up. All of the songs were written by Go Radio, with the exception of "The Ending" and "Hear Me Out". It continues the lyric themes found on Lucky Street, which centred around events in the band members' day-to-day lives, but with the added concept of hope. Lancaster found it stressful working on "Baltimore", adding that he felt the song wasn't "'finished,' because I was always scared of cutting it short and not doing it justice." It features a lighter pop soundscape while retaining the high energy of the previous track, and showcases Lancaster's vocal abilities. The guitar riff in "Collide" was one of the first pieces written for the album, having its origins during the Lucky Street sessions.
"Go to Hell" was one of the last tracks written for the album, and the easiest written for it overall. It starts with Lancaster's vocal and a piano, before changing tempos and incorporated guitars. Most of "Lost and Found" was written by guitarist Alex Reed after returning from a trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to Lancaster, the album's title-track is an accumulation of the previous year for the band. "What If You Don't" talks about moving with one's life and looking forward to the future. It consists of piano, vocals, and a violin played by Sean Mackin of Yellowcard. "Over Me" was one of the first tracks the group worked on in the studio, collectively spending four days on it, before scrapping it and starting again. Lancaster said "Hear Me Out" initially started as a tribute to Reed's grandmother who had died recently, before evolving into "something that we're all emotionally attached to." It opens with an acoustic guitar, before building with a piano into a full-band sound; it was compared to one of the band's earlier tracks "Goodnight Moon".

Release

Between March and May 2012, the group embarked on headlining US tour, dubbed the Lucky Street Tour. They were supported by There for Tomorrow, Tyler Carter, Simple as Surgery, Ivory Lights and This Providence. On April 20, Close the Distance was announced for release in August. On July 12, it was pushed back from its original date to September as the band wanted to "make sure everything was as perfect as we know you guys deserve." Four days later, the album's artwork was released, designed by Alex Sheldon at Match & Kerosene studio. On July 17, a teaser video was released; after it was shared 20,000 times, "Collide" was premiered through Alternative Press website the following day. A lyric video for the song premiered through AbsolutePunk on July 31. "Go to Hell" was released as a single on August 7.
A music video for "Go to Hell" premiered through Entertainment Weekly on August 29. The clips sees a man running through Los Angele's public transport system to meet his partner. In September and October, the group went on a US tour. On September 13, the entire album was streamed on Billboard website, before being released on September 18. The iTunes deluxe edition included "If That’s Tonight", "Live, Learn, Let Go", and acoustic versions of "Go to Hell" and "I Won't Lie" as bonus tracks. "Go to Hell" was released to alternative radio on October 16. In November and December, the group went on the #GoToHell Tour in the US with Paradise Fears and Stages & Stereos. In February and March 2013, the band supported the Summer Set on their headlining US tour. Following this, the group performed on the Warped Tour.

Track listing

All songs written by Go Radio, except where noted.
  1. "I Won't Lie" – 3:38
  2. "Baltimore" – 3:55
  3. "Collide" – 3:34
  4. "Go to Hell" – 3:29
  5. "Lost and Found" – 3:23
  6. "Close the Distance" – 4:01
  7. "What If You Don't" – 3:50
  8. "Things I Don't See" – 3:51
  9. "The Ending" – 3:43
  10. "Over Me" – 3:51
  11. "Hear Me Out" – 4:55

    Personnel

Personnel per booklet.
Go Radio
Additional musicians
Production