TV On The Radio is the real deal, one of those rare bands with an immediately recognizable sound that other bands have tried and failed to replicate. Their style is unmistakable and their skills are strong, which has led to lots of critical and a decent degree of commercial success.
The Brooklyn-based band, whose members are occasionally seen in the Greenpoint and Williamsburg areas of the borough, will release their next full-length album, Dear Science, on September 23 (Interscope Geffen A&M/ Touch And Go Records/Universal). I've been listening to the album today and have found plenty of reasons to get excited about it.
It's clearly as strong an effort as the best of their previous work but features new instrumentation and sonic directions, like the drum-and-bass of "Shout Me Out," the at times Conor Oberst-like feel of "Stork and Owl" and the sweeping majesty of "Family Tree," which departs from an intro that channels the optimism of the Flaming Lips' "What Is The Light" in favor of gentle, string-backed balladry whose comforting feel contrasts sharply with dire lyrics ("In shadow of the gallows of your family tree, there's a hundred hearts or three, pumping blood to the roots of evil to keep it young").
Jon Pareles of the New York Times, whom we once ran into at a Dragons of Zynth show, describes Dear Science
as "vertiginous, full of cantilevered rhythms and synthetic sounds, yetopenly catchy," and we agree. Progress has been made without abandoningthe stuff that made us fall for this group in the first place. And themood is decidedly lighter.
"You know how people always say that comedians are some of thesaddest people in the world?" said lead singer Tunde Adebimpe. "Well,
the opposite is true, too. As heavy as some of the songs get, thejoking around that goes around between the five of us gets out ofcontrol sometimes."
"If people are listening to us because we're dark and brooding,
great," says the band's producer and multi-instrumentalist Dave Sitek,
pictured second from the left in the photo above. "But I think there'sa greater percentage looking for us to do something different withevery album. Some of the darkest songs on Dear Science are themore upbeat ones. Like 'Crying' is fucking heavy, dude."
We obtained the following exclusive TV On The Radio webisode that the band released in advance of the album. It's cryptic and enjoyable, with a jazzy, spoken word feel:
MySpace currently features two 90-second sample tracks from the album, "Dancing Choose" and "Golden Age." On Friday, the site plans to host a listening party that will give listeners a chance to hear the whole album, slated to be released next Tuesday.
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