Clinging to a Scheme is the third studio album by Swedish indie pop band The Radio Dept. It was released on 19 April 2010 by Labrador Records.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.2/10
Metacritic78/100
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
The Boston Phoenix
Consequence of Sound
Drowned in Sound8/10
NME8/10
Now4/5
Pitchfork8.3/10
PopMatters8/10
Q
Under the Radar7/10

In 2018, Pitchfork listed Clinging to a Scheme at number 24 on its list of the 30 best dream pop albums.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Domestic Scene"Johan Duncanson2:25
2."Heaven's on Fire"DuncansonMartin Carlberg3:32
3."This Time Around"DuncansonCarlberg3:46
4."Never Follow Suit"DuncansonCarlberg4:09
5."A Token of Gratitude"Duncanson4:07
6."The Video Dept."DuncansonCarlberg3:25
7."Memory Loss"Duncanson4:17
8."David"Duncanson3:32
9."Four Months in the Shade"Carlberg1:50
10."You Stopped Making Sense"Duncanson3:54
Total length:34:57

Personnel

Credits for Clinging to a Scheme adapted from album liner notes.

The Radio Dept.

  • Johan Duncanson
  • Martin Carlberg
  • Daniel Tjäder

Additional musicians

  • Per Blomgren – drums (track 10)
  • Mikael Häggström – live drums (track 3)
  • Mattias Oldén – saxophone (track 2)

Production

  • Johan Duncanson – production
  • Martin Carlberg – production
  • Johannes Berglund – mastering (track 4)
  • Mattias Oldén – mastering (tracks 1, 3, 5–10)
  • The Radio Dept. – mastering (track 2)

Artwork and design

  • Johan Duncanson – sleeve design

Charts

Chart (2010)Peak position
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)11
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)20