Ever since bursting onto the scene in the early part of the last decade, TV on the Radio has become one of the more established and beloved "hipster rock" bands around. Sporting an adventurous approach to making music and a wide range of talents on many instruments, TVOTR is a great example of a band that has no real established sound but does have a lot of impassioned followers.
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Their most recent effort, "Nine Types of Light," is a continuation of the group's tradition of revising their sound to go along with changes in popular music.
Fans of the noisier, highly revered "Return to Cookie Mountain" may be a little disappointed upon the first listen, but quickly TVOTR achieves what it does so well: settle in and make great music.
They certainly don't start in familiar territory with the first track, "Second Song," featuring a slow-tempo disco vibe and a horn outro. This track sounds a little too much like The National, and not in a good way.
It's not until the third song, "You," that TVOTR starts to play to its strengths and produce something that is as listenable as it is well-constructed. There is a the slow tempo, an almost reggae-like beat driving it, but it's paired with a grooving bass guitar underneath at the track's to get heads bobbing. It works to great effect.
The song you'll want to share with your friends to convince them to go to the TVOTR show with you is "No Future Shock." Lead singer Tunde Adebimpe encourages his listeners to "Do the no future shock / Don't stop." A wide range of emphatic aesthetics accompanies the sentiment, including a bellowing bass drum, a number of crazed guitars and screaming horns. This celebration of apocalyptic emotion is what makes this a true TVOTR record as well as a record with real drive and thematic significance.
Once again, TVOTR reinvents itself while keeping its appeal — not an easy task. Just ask Interpol.
