TV on the Radio
albums
- I'll write a bio when they make 3 records
Band Members: Tunde Adebimpe - Vocals
Kyp Malone - Vocals, Guitar
David Andrew Sitek - Guitar, Keyboards, Sound Manipulator
(a revolving cast of other musicisand that I'm not sure are official memebrs yet, including
Jaleel Bunton, Gerard Smith, Katrina Ford, and Chris Taylor)
Best Album: Return to Cookie Mountain
Biggest Influences: Brian Eno, Pere Ubu, countless Doo-Wop bands
2004
Desperate Youths, Bloodthirsty Babes - 7/8
This debut album is more than the sum of its parts, as certain songs may stick out more than others but it leaves
a large impression on the heart. TV on the Radio have a truly original sound, and that shows through more than
anything else. Taking "Staring at the Sun" off of the Young Liars EP shows the band under the inspiration of one of
their largest influences, Pixies (they also did something similar with Come on Pilgram and "Vamous"). There is an
astonishing heart to this album, where the best songs lie and the band crafts excellent songs: "Dreams" is a mix of
noise rock and African soul, in a way that has NEVER been done before; "King Eternal" is the albums best song,
and is an ever evolving masterwork with a steady beat and a life changing middle section ("we will be, we will be, we
will beeeee", ah you know you wanna sing it!); "Ambulence" is an a capella track (?) that shows an old standard
that is far from dead; "Poppy" blends noise rock with doo-wop a capella. These four songs are so good that the
rest of the album does pale some in comparison, because it is simply not as good. To say this band has many
influences might seem obvious, but the way they blend them on tunes like "Wrong Way" and "Bomb Yourself" show
a truly unique band using ideas that are not fully fleshed out. Yet, no other rock band has ever truly sounded like
TV on the Radio, and this great debut shows a band with so much potential it nearly bursts out of the record.
- Trevor e.y.
1.the wrong way- 3
2.staring at the sun- 4
3.dreams- 4
4.king eternal- 4
5.ambulence- 4
6.poppy- 4
7.don't love you- 2
8.bomb yourself- 3
9.wear you out- 2
2006
Return to Cookie Mountain - 9/8
The album cover is the abyss of a birds nest and I cannot think of a more fitting way to get into the mindset of
listening to Return to Cookie Mountain. Even the playful title says it - the album is half cozy and half scary. TV on
the Radio return in top form here, fulfilling the promise of their debut album and then some! The album is a mix of
The Platters meets My Bloody Valentine, and it takes you for a ride. Hardly any tune is ever straight up
verse-chorus-verse, the only straight forward song is "A Method", a song mocking song structures that sounds like
a doo-wop band's remorse after ending a career. When Adebimpe says "this is hardly the method you know", he's
not kidding at all (and then the end breaks into some insane arpeggio passage). How did it build off of the old
record? Well, "Playhouses" recalls "King Eternal" but in a very strange way, and "I Was a Lover" recalls "The
Wrong Way" and "Wear You Out", but is better than both. That's about all the old comparisons I can to, the rest is
completely original.
"Wolf Like Me" totally revamps the shoegazing genre on its own, it makes bands like Serena Maneesh and M83
look like amateurs. That one song is not only one of the best singles in a long time, but exemplifies the diversity on
this record: it is the only song that sounds anything like a "chugging indie rock song"; of course it mixes in a vocal
style harking back to the Delta Bluesmen in there too. In One Song! "Dirtywhirl" ain't far behind that one in its
originality and intricacy - a song about a hurricane that actually has a waltzing & whirling quality to it. "Province" has
David Bowie as a guest singer, but it's actually hard to tell him from Adebimpe; "Hours" has unbelievebile vocal
harmonies; songs like "Blues from Down Here" (a mix of Nick Cave and H. R.) and "Playhouses" are so
multi-layered that it is impossible to get a grasp on them in one listen, similar to the album. At the end of all of this,
"Tonight" casts an Eno light on everything and oh, has a band ever sounded more like Royal Trux? "Wash the
Day" on its own is a lost track of Twin Infinitives. The only complaint I would say is that the album seems longer than
it is, a not-to-short 56 minutes, but not a minute is really wasted. Disciples of Pere Ubu, Royal Trux, Captain
Beefheart, and Brian Eno push music beyond the pop realms and display experimental music at its best. I have
NEVER heard an album quite like this and while I was expecting something good while buying this, it blew me away
after repeated listens. One of the greatest albums I've ever heard. - Trevor e.y.
1.i was a lover- 4
2.hours- 4
3.province- 4
4.playhouses- 4
5.wolf like me- 4
6.a method- 4
7.let the devil in- 4
8.dirtywhirl- 4
9.blues form here- 4
10.tonight- 4
11.wash the day- 3
Non Album Things
2003
Young Liars EP - 9/8
Wow. I can't imagine someone's first reaction to this. Four out of this world songs and an a capella Pixies
cover? What the hell? Though many people will not purchase this TVOTR EP first these days (they better get
Return to Cookie Mountain first!), it is flawless as flawless can be. "Satellite" is everything you could ask for in an
opener; it defines the band's blend of doo wop and electronics form the get go and has an unbelievable chrous.
"Staring at the Sun" is also on the debut album, but it was here first at it has the same chilling effect. "Blind" is
seven minutes of the singing style of Talking Heads meets Eels, again, W.T.F.! Slow and droney to boot, I don't
know how these guys write this stuff. "Young Liars" is the best song on here and makes a perfect closer (which it's
not on here, but it would've been), and it's all you can remember about the EP after it's over. "Mr. Grives" is an a
capella version of the Pixies song, like I said earlier, W.T.F.! I hate to say it, but I wish they would have added this
EP and Desperate Youth together, while throwing the last three songs from Desperate Youth out - that would
have been close to a perfect debut! But I don't control fates of bands that have awesome talent, and I trust these
folks knew what they were doing. Oh yeah, get this EP right away. Any of these songs is worth whatever the price
could be for an EP. They seem to try and follow Pixies' pattern of releasing records closely, but this debut EP
blows the pants off of Come On Pilgram; that's for damn sure. - Trevor e.y.
1.satelite- 4
2.staring at the sun- 4
3.blind- 4
4.young liars- 4
5.mr. grives- 4
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