Close The Distance
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''Close the Distance'' is the second and final studio album by American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
Go Radio Go Radio was an American rock band from Tallahassee, Florida, formed by former Mayday Parade vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Jason Lancaster in April 2007. The band toured with The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, A Day to Remember, as well as Mayday ...
. It was released on September 18, 2012, through record label
Fearless Records Fearless Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1994. Fearless is based in Culver City, California, and is best known for its early pop punk moments captured in the ''Fearless Flush Sampler'' and ''Punk Bites'' releas ...
. Guitarist Alex Reed was located in Philadelphia, while the remainder of Go Radio was in Florida. They sent each other song ideas, before meeting up, and working on the songs for several weeks. In early 2012, the band recorded their next album with producer James Paul Wisner. Described as a
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
album, ''Close the Distance'' was compared to
Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of rhythm guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David ImmerglĂ ...
. Preceded by a headlining US tour, "Go to Hell" was released as the
lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...
in August 2012, with its
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
following later in the month. To promote the album, the band went on two further headlining US tours until the end of the year. In 2013, they had a support slot for
the Summer Set The Summer Set is an American pop rock band from Scottsdale, Arizona. The band consists of lead vocalist Brian Logan Dales, guitarist John Gomez, bass guitarist Stephen Gomez, and drummer Jess Bowen. The Summer Set was signed to The Militia Grou ...
, and appeared on that year's
Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...
, prior to breaking up. ''Close the Distance'' received generally positive reviews from
music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
, some of whom commented on frontman Jason Lancaster's vocals, and its pop rock sound. In the US, the album peaked at number 54 on the ''Billboard'' 200, as well as charting highly on three ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' component charts,
Alternative Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
,
Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...
, and
Rock Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
.


Background and production

In the early stages of writing for a new album, guitarist Alex Reed was in Philadelphia while the remainder of Go Radio were based across Florida. The band 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 Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...
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 band 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 The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...
working on their albums. Opting away from the large guitar sounds of their contemporaries, the band 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 band, they started re-recording a number of sections. Reed played a
Gibson Les Paul Standard The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typica ...
guitar through a New Vintage H&B 50 amp, which was connected to a New Vintage 4x12
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. Lancaster played various Fender and Gibson guitars, also through a New Vintage H&B 50 amp. Wisner mixed all of the recordings except for "I Won't Lie" and "Go to Hell", which were done by
Mark Endert Mark Philip Endert (born January 17, 1971) is an American record producer and audio engineer. Best known for his work with alternative rock bands, he has won a Grammy Award from two nominations. Biography From the early 1990s to the present, End ...
.


Composition

''Close the Distance'' has been described as a
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
release, with elements of
indie folk Indie folk (also called alternative folk) is an alternative genre of music that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Characteristics The staff of '' Paste Magazine'' said in 2020: "No music genre ...
, and drew comparisons to
Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of rhythm guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David ImmerglĂ ...
. 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" (co-written with Mike Jansen) and "Hear Me Out" (co-written with
Ian Kirkpatrick Ian Andrew Kirkpatrick (born 24 May 1946) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. Described as "supremely athletic, fast, fearless and with an uncanny sense of anticipation", Kirkpatrick is widely regarded as one of the greatest flankers ...
). 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 Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
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 Yellowcard is an American rock band who formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1997. Their official lineup currently consists of lead singer Ryan Key, lead guitarist Ryan Mendez, bassist Josh Portman and violinist Sean Mackin. Primarily a pop- ...
. "Over Me" was one of the first tracks the band 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, Go Radio embarked on a headlining US tour, dubbed the Lucky Street Tour. They were supported by
There for Tomorrow There for Tomorrow was an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in February 2003. The original group consisted of vocalist Maika Maile, drummer Chris Kamrada, guitarist James Flaherty and bassist Jay Enriquez. Christian Climer joined ...
,
Tyler Carter Derek Tyler Carter (born December 30, 1991) is an American musician from Habersham County, Georgia. He was the lead vocalist and founding member of the metalcore band Issues (2012–2020). Carter began his music career as a drummer in local At ...
, Simple as Surgery, Ivory Lights and
This Providence This Providence was a four-piece alternative rock band from Seattle, Washington (U.S. state), Washington, United States. The band consisted of Dan Young (lead vocals/guitar), David Blaise (bass), Gavin Phillips (lead guitar), and Andy Horst ( ...
. 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 Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political r ...
'' website the following day. A lyric video for the song premiered through ''
AbsolutePunk ''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to featu ...
'' at the end of the month. "Go to Hell" was released as a single on August 7. A
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for "Go to Hell" premiered through ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' on August 29, 2012. The clips sees a man running through
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
's public transport system to meet his partner. In September and October, the band went on a US tour. On September 13, the entire album was streamed on ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' website, before being released on September 18 through independent record label
Fearless Records Fearless Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1994. Fearless is based in Culver City, California, and is best known for its early pop punk moments captured in the ''Fearless Flush Sampler'' and ''Punk Bites'' releas ...
. The
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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 Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...
on October 16. In November and December, the band went on the #GoToHell Tour in the US with
Paradise Fears Paradise Fears is an American alternative rock band from Vermillion, South Dakota. The band has been touring and releasing music independently since 2011. Their 2013 album, ''Battle Scars'', peaked at #2 on the iTunes Alternative chart. Histor ...
and Stages & Stereos. In February and March 2013, the band supported
the Summer Set The Summer Set is an American pop rock band from Scottsdale, Arizona. The band consists of lead vocalist Brian Logan Dales, guitarist John Gomez, bass guitarist Stephen Gomez, and drummer Jess Bowen. The Summer Set was signed to The Militia Grou ...
on their headlining US tour. Following this, the band performed on the 2013
Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...
, before breaking up in October.


Reception

''Close the Distance'' was met with generally positive reviews from
music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
. At
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the album received an
average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
score of 74, based on 4 reviews. ''
AbsolutePunk ''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to featu ...
'' staff member Ryan Gardner said ''Close the Distance'' was the album that "defines Go Radio as a band deserving of stardom." He noted that that pushed past the two extremes of ''Lucky Street'', "gritty pop-punk ... and mid-tempo rockers", in favor of "''solely'' mid-tempo pop-rock." ''
Melodic A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term c ...
'' Pär Winberg called it "a good album" that had "a lot of great melodies and a nice solid production" from Wisner. The album's music had "a twist of a more bombastic edge" with Lancaster's piano work.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
reviewer Gregory Heaney said ''Lucky Street'' "felt like the promise", and with ''Close the Distance'', Go Radio "makes good on that promise." He found the album to have a "mellow, more plaintive vibe" than ''Lucky Street'', "attempting to wash over listeners rather than simply bowl them over." ''
Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more " underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, ...
'' writer Andy Ritchie wrote that Lancaster's vocals were "again the focal point, draping itself across a background of super-American piano rock," with the "gentler moments" being where the band "really excel."
idobi idobi Radio (), is an alternative Internet radio station in the United States, that plays new alternative music. Since its establishment in 1999, the station has utilized its website, app, and iTunes platform for broadcasting over the Internet ...
's Tori Bilcik wrote that the record "still makes for a solid, lighter pop rock album that fans of a variety of different music can enjoy." The frequency of Lancaster's piano "not only ties the tracks together but also ties the album together with their past releases, and the band also maintain their traditionally powerful lyrics." Sputnikmusic staff member Atari said ''Close the Distance'' didn't measure up to ''Lucky Street'', with Lancaster's voice aiding in "carry ngthe album even through its weaker moments." It wasn't "as consistent or as enjoyable as its predecessor," while there was a few "outstanding" tracks, the filler songs "in between keep it from reaching its true potential." Commercially, ''Close the Distance'' reached number 54 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. It appeared on three other ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' component charts: number 12 on
Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...
, number 13 on
Alternative Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
, and number 22 on
Rock Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
.


Track listing

All songs written by Go Radio, except where noted. All recordings produced by James Paul Wisner.


Personnel

Personnel per booklet. Go Radio * Jason Lancaster – lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Alex Reed – lead guitar, vocals * Matt "Burns" Poulos – bass guitar, backing vocals * Steven Kopacz – drums, backing vocals Additional musicians * Sean Mackin – violin (track 7) Production and design * James Paul Wisner – recording, producer, mixing (except tracks 1 and 4) *
Mark Endert Mark Philip Endert (born January 17, 1971) is an American record producer and audio engineer. Best known for his work with alternative rock bands, he has won a Grammy Award from two nominations. Biography From the early 1990s to the present, End ...
– mixing (tracks 1 and 4) * Alex Sheldon – design


Charts


References


External links


''Close the Distance''
at
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(streamed copy where licensed) {{Authority control 2012 albums Go Radio albums Fearless Records albums Albums produced by James Paul Wisner