Go Radio - Lucky Street Review

If you have the patience to sift through the generic muck that is the pop-rock genre, you’ll find some gems. Most recently, we’ve seen intelligent pop-rock outfits like Valencia, The Graduate, and The Dangerous Summer become fan favorites amongst this site. And during a time like this when uninspired and recycled ideas run rampant through the genre, it’s easy to give up. Maybe I’ve become jaded or maybe I just miss The Starting Line a lot – either way it’s been very difficult for me to back this genre like I once did.

And then I heard Go Radio’s debut album, Lucky Street.

Formed by Jason Lancaster (ex-vocalist/guitarist of Mayday Parade), this album has been three years in the making. Two EPs and countless tours later, it’s finally here, and boy it doesn’t disappoint. Lucky Street is pop-rock done exceptionally well, starting immediately with the title track. Sirens wail as the power chords rev up, and as soon as Lancaster begins the track with “And I watched the Atlantic Ocean rise to meet New York,” you feel something great brewing. They continue the momentum with first single “Any Other Heart,” which really shows off the passion behind Lancaster’s vocals. There isn’t a chorus on this album that Lancaster doesn’t knock out of the park, as his vocal performance is one of the best I’ve heard in this genre in recent memory.

Go Radio rip through the first five tracks with determined energy. You have the Graduate-tinged “Strength To Say” running wild in your membrane, while “Swear It Like You Mean It” adds some piano flair to the mix before crushing it with its huge chorus. The album takes a breather with string-induced and reworked “Why I’m Home,” before killing it with the aptly named “Kill The Beast.” The track immediately rips your face off as Lancaster absolutely shreds the chorus. One part The Starting Line with a little Dangerous Summer mixed in and you have one delicious pop-rock cocktail in “Kill The Beast.”

Lucky Street is a generous fourteen tracks long, and the band does a swell job of mixing in slower songs to break up any monotony that may show up. This includes the two versions of “Forever My Father” – one reworked version and the version that features Erin and Daniel Lancaster. Some fans may think the new version doesn’t match up to the original (and how could it ever match the emotional intensity of the initial recording), but the song still serves as a moving moment on the album....full text Lucky Street is the first full-length album from the Tallahassee, Florida based band Go Radio, with ex-Mayday Parade vocalist Jason Lancaster. Although it may sound similar to Mayday Parade’s old stuff, something about Jason Lancaster’s deep voice and Go Radio’s different sounds makes you want to keep listening to more and more songs off of their album. Songs from their EP, “Do Overs and Second Chances” that came out in April 2010, such as “Goodnight Moon” and “Letters and Love Notes” really catch the ears of Go Radio’s fans with great, alluring lyrics and catchy beats and “Lucky Street” has the same effects.


Last summer in July, Jason Lancaster told AP Magazine he started writing for the band’s upcoming album yet it wasn’t until the end of August that Go Radio started recording their new music, and ended the process at the end of September. Finishing off the recording process, the band went on The Fearless Friends Tour this past fall with fellow Fearless Records bands such as Artist vs. Poet, Breathe Carolina, Mayday Parade, and Every Avenue.

I wouldn’t exactly say this album is a good one to dance to, but it’s without a doubt a great listen for fellow Go Radio/Mayday Parade/Alternative-Rock listeners. Jason Lancaster and his fellow band mates Alex Reed, Matt Poulos, and Steven Kopacz continue to give fans inspiringly beautiful lyrics on “Lucky Street” just like they did on “Do Overs and Second Chances”. Lancaster’s more louder and deeper songs on this album include “Fight, Fight (Reach For The Sky)”, “Kill The Beast”, “Strength To Stay”, and “Singing With The King”. If your more of a Go Radio fan because you loved the softness of “Goodnight Moon” on their previous EP, you’ll love the songs “The Truth Is”, “Forever My Father”, “Hold On”, and “Why I’m Home.” The last song on the record is a different version of “Forever My Father” with Jason Lancaster’s brother, Daniel, and sister, Erin. Without a doubt I recommend to absolutely give a listen to “Any Other Heart”, “Swear It Like You Mean It”, and “House of Hallways” – which are probably the best (and definitely my favorite) on this record....full text While GO RADIO have already released material to generally positive reviews, ‘Lucky Street’ comes as their first full-length release. Jason Lancaster, of ex-Mayday Parade fame, is pretty practised at poignant pop rock melodies and catchy tracks and the album is no disappointment on that front.

From the opener of the eponymous track, there’s an epic feel. ‘Lucky Street’ gets off to a strong start and highlights Lancaster’s range of vocal stylings. The songs seem to be split into two camps, interspersed between each other. On one side there’s vivid pop-punk with snappy vocals, and on the other are delicate piano-led tracks showing off Lancaster’s lyrical abilities. In the former, ‘Fight, Fight (Reach For The Sky)’ best sums up the rollicking, catchy set of songs. Its brass and swinging rhythms makes it one of the standout tracks of the album.

In the latter camp is the excellent ‘Why I’m Home’; poignant and stripped down, it showcases Go Radio’s main attraction: Lancaster’s voice. The vocals vary from piercing sincerity to a warmer sound, and nothing demonstrates this transition like the pop-fuelled rock of ‘Redemption In The Verse’, while softer track ‘House of Hallways’ is the perfect lesson in catchy, yet gentle pop-rock. Soulful vocals make it all the more irresistible, and it certainly comes as one of the highlights of the album. However, the variation sometimes means it can feel a little disjointed. The flow isn’t always coherent, and this holds the release back somewhat, especially with a couple of weaker tracks that don’t hold up as well. However, when Go Radio are good, they’re very good, and album closer ‘The Truth Is’ ends the release on a high note, basking fully in its pop-punk sensibilities....full text