TV on the Radio

For a band that’s spent the majority of its career shouldering the “artist to watch” burden, TV on the Radio’s creative arc hasn’t been all that unusual. With each release, the Brooklyn-based quintet has steadily drifted toward the mainstream. Its stunning debut EP, 2003’s Young Liars, and the 2004 follow-up LP, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, heralded the arrival of a refreshingly raw sound that turned convention on its side. It wasn’t enough for these art dudes simply to deconstruct rock & roll; they stripped it down to its bare essence—employing only what was necessary to carry a tune. Instrumentation often consisted of nothing more than singer Tunde Adebimpe’s vocals and a guitar drone over a primitive drum-machine beat.

Following the band’s 2006 major-label debut, Return to Cookie Mountain, TVOTR ringleader and burgeoning überproducer David Sitek raised his profile considerably. He produced Scarlett Johansson’s debut, Anywhere I Lay My Head, as well as remixes for Beck and Nine Inch Nails—not to mention Baltimore trio Celebration (whose seductive singer Katrina Ford is a regular TVOTR collaborator). As Sitek’s technical ability behind the board grew stronger, so did his prowess as a producer.

The band’s third LP, Dear Science, features endless layers of electronics, horns (courtesy of Brooklyn Fela-philes Antibalas), strings and a curious sheen betraying the band’s humble origin as an ad-hoc Pro Tools project between loftmates Adebimpe and Sitek. Despite the excessive layering, tracks like the unfortunately titled “Love Dog” and “Family Tree” feel devastatingly personal, showcasing Adebimpe’s trademark contrast between baritone and falsetto.

Still, the quintet sounds uncharacteristically conventional on the neo-funk of “Crying” and the “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ ” vibes of the album’s first single, “Golden Age.” Cut-and-pasted tracks like “Shout Me Out” and “DLZ” further suggest an album largely assembled piecemeal.

Click here to read more album reviews.