TV On The Radio - Nine Types Of Light

The problem with TV On The Radio is that they just have too many ideas. Their earlier albums were bursting with innovation and Dave Sitek's heavy production so that the listener was left battered and slightly bruised by the experience, which was admirable no doubt but never quite fulfilling. The marvellous Dear Science, came closest to realising the band's potential becoming album of the year for me and many others. It has been a couple of years since that however and after a creative hiatus that could have been permanent it is very exciting to have a new album to talk about, eagerly awaited by plenty I'm sure and I'm glad to say it doesn't disappoint. It might not quite match its predecessor, the band seem to be enjoying themselves far too much to worry about that, but it certainly consolidates their position as 'art-rock' band it's almost impossible not to enjoy.

The first album to be recorded in California rather than Brooklyn, following Sitek's westward migration it's impossible not to comment on the positivity of an album bathed in light and dealing with themes of celestial convergence and that good old universal - love. It opens with Second Song which slowly builds its brassy call for 'Every lover on a mission shift your known position into the light,' before breaking down musically to ask for something far more radical: 'Oh body-mind leave me behind/And I'll do you one better/While you define/Your heartless time/I'll defend my love forever.' This is followed by the album's only slight bum note for me, Keep Your Heart beginning well but never quite developing into anything other than a rather horrible falsetto screech near the end. Things get back on track with You which is one of those songs that sounds retro and futuristic at the same time with its Vangelis-like keyboard sweeps, something exploited not so long ago by the Fever Ray album. In fact there's something reminiscent of that album at the beginning of No Future Shock but that is quickly jettisoned in favour of jangling guitars and an insistent call to dance. Killer Crane strikes a very different chord slowly building its piano, choral tones, strummed guitars and even what sounds like a banjo for those who are impatiently awaiting the new Fleet Foxes album. It is a gorgeously orchestrated piece and by that I don't mean that it is neat, far from it, it has the kind of honest instrumentation that makes something like A Day In The Life such a joy.

Will Do opens with some lyrics that I think Prince would have been proud of in the past for the way they mix humour with polite propositioning for sex - 'It might be impractical/To seek out a new romance/We won't know the actual/If we never take the chance/I'd love to collapse with you/And ease you against this song/I think we're compatible/I see that you think I'm wrong.' But it is actually a touching song about memory - 'Anytime will do/What choice of words will take me back to you.' TVOTR know how to change the atmosphere and New Cannonball Blues comes in heavy with a funky, bassy keyboard swagger for an instant change-up. Then we have Repetition's plucked bass undercurrent, which runs along like something from a 70's TV series. It seems at first to be a song fraught with danger, 'But I can't stop thinking/That it's all gone wrong/And the truth will be out there/Before it's too long,' before that celestial convergence arrives and the hollered repetition of the chorus drives it into a jumping rock-out finale. Forgotten eases you down nicely after that racket, or does for a while at least, building its menace first through lyrics that speak of 'Beverly Hills/Nuclear winter/What shall we wear/And who's for dinner?' and then musically too when it builds into a whistled military chorus, a song that equates fame with becoming one of the undead. I don't think I'll be the only one to hear the influence of INXS of all bands on album closer Caffeinated Consciousness with its alternating stanzas of shouted agitprop and softly sung chorus. The album seems to end there rather abruptly and there's a bit of me that thought 'Oh, is that all of it?', as I said this isn't quite the total album that Dear Science, was but this is a small disappointment that can easily be remedied by getting back to track 1 and starting all over again.

With the sad announcement on Wednesday that bassist Gerard Smith lost his battle with cancer it is worth mentioning that this album is not just an album, there is also a 60 minute film featuring all the music available here and which includes some poignant footage and even a hilarious California get together scene which I won't explain any further. For those who just fancy a listen to a straightforward stream of the album you can follow this link. For a quick shot just click play below to hear the gorgeous Will Do (it may take you via YouTube).

Read more...

TV On The Radio - Dear Science,

TV On The Radio - Halfway Home

I am new to TV On The Radio so I have spent the last few weeks sampling their world. For those as green as me TV On The Radio (or TVOTR) are a Brooklyn based five-piece. There music is hard to categorise taking in as it does soul, electro, shoegaze, funk, doo-wop, free jazz and post-punk influences. I was initially intrigued by one description of them which invoked comparisons to David Bowie and early Prince. So I have been listening to their three albums; Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (2004), Return To Cookie Mountain (2006) and the recently released Dear Science. I won't go into too much detail about the first two. Desperate Youth is crammed full of ideas and influences which don't quite come together perfectly but are a hell of an introduction to a newbie like me, Cookie Mountain is a giant leap forward production-wise; a huge sonic assault of an album which attacks you from all angles. And Dear Science sees them bring the ideas, influences, production and music making intelligence together into their most cohesive release yet. It's extraordinary.

Just the opening track 'Halfway Home' contains Joy Division guitars, bouncy 'ba ba ba ba ba bum' backing vocals, and hand claps before a balladeering Bowie vocal lifts the song along with ethereal keyboards; but don't let all that beauty hide the fact that the lyrics are filled with dread and damage. What a start. The funky guitars on 'Crying' shouldn't blind you to the anger contained in lyrics like 'Time to take the wheel and the road/From the masters/Take this car, drive it straight into the wall/Build it back up from the floor.' Nor those lyrics spat out against the media on 'Dancing Choose'. In fact this album is filled with frustration, protest and the wish for change; all very apposite at his time of election in America.

The psychedelic 'Golden Age' yearns for a better future described by Kyp Malone's sensual falsetto vocal. And the unashamedly romantic 'Family Tree' with its simple piano accompaniment somehow manages to be so much more with strings, octave separated vocals and some skillful production from Sitek . Let's also talk about the lyrics that hint at something very dark indeed - 'We're hanging in the shadow of your family tree/Your haunted heart and me/Brought down by an old idea whose time has come/And in the shadow of the gallows of your family tree/There's a hundred hearts or three/Pumping blood to the roots of evil to keep them young.' Come on Chris Martin, keep up.

How do you recover from that? With the full on funk assault of 'Red Dress' of course, 'Fuck your war!' they shout and jangling guitars and a big brass section lead us into a big dance number. 'Love Dog' sounds simple at first but is beautifully textured, the vocals built up in layers, whilst subtle strings and beats reminded me of Bjork. There's even the dramatic collision of guitars and drum and bass on 'Shout Me Out'. But there's real menace in 'DLZ' with it's opening line 'Congratulations on the mess you made of things' and what follows is a barrage of imagery backed up by a religious sounding organ. To round things off there's the filthy 'Lover's Day' which comes on with all the pomp of a marching band and delivers lyrics that would probably make Prince blush.

It's a shameless end to an exhilarating album filled with musical invention, intelligent and politicised lyrics and top-notch production. Sitek seems to have found the right balance with this album; where Cookie Mountain sometimes collapsed under the weight it was carrying Dear Science is like a prize fighter, tipping the scales exactly where it needs to be, bouncing round the ring and landing blow after blow, leaving the listener punch drunk (sorry, enough metaphor, I should leave it to Tunde Adebimpe). That's the best I can do for now. It's very difficult to summarise how you feel when you hear something really exciting, you just want other people to hear it too. This is music chock full of energy, meaning and pure talent. Stop reading, start listening.

TV On The Radio - Golden Age

Read more...