TV on the Radio, “Dear Science” Release
Friday, October 10th, 2008
Brooklyn-based TV on the Radio recently released their third full-length album (fourth, if you include self-released OK Calculator), and as we’ve come to expect from these masters of experimental rock, Dear Science is a new spin on their well-developed style. The album manages to retain TVOTR’s distinct core sound and haunting undertones while bringing more joyful elements to the table.
TVOTR’s music spans a number of genres, including post-punk, jazz fusion, doo-wop, electronica, and hip-hop, so it is difficult to draw any comparisons between them and other artists. It’s known for being sprawling, but not disjointed; cerebral, but not pretentious; heavy, but not abrasive.
The album kicks off with “Halfway Home,” a strangely theme-song-like track featuring hand claps, upbeat backing vocals, and a nonchalant melody uncharacteristic of TVOTR. Front man Tunde’s eerie falsetto doesn’t make an appearance until the two-minute mark, and for most of Dear Science, his usually heavy and desperate tone is replaced by something calmer and less urgent.
Tracks like “Crying,” “Stork and Owl” and “Love Dog” showcase this subdued TVOTR, and even the single “Golden Age,” which is stylistically similar to past albums, seems more exuberant somehow. Maybe that is the distinguishing factor with Dear Science—it’s certainly happier and poppier than anything else TVOTR has done, which the spastic rap verses of “Dancing Choose” and bright choral style of “Golden Age” handily show.
Their trademark sound is not lost in all this, of course. When I say that Dear Science is happier than former TVOTR albums, I don’t mean that it’s happy. It’s still riddled with references to death and cynical descriptions of past lovers and acquaintances. And despite its jaunts into pop song structure and less mournful melodies, the dark and cathartic style of TVOTR is alive and well in tracks like “Red Dress” and “DLZ,” which would be at home on former albums Young Liars and Return to Cookie Mountain.
Although Dear Science is less complex and lighter than TVOTR’s past albums, it doesn’t compromise their unmistakable commitment to experimentation. Instead, Dear Science seems to be more accessible to—and maybe the best starting point for—the unfamiliar listener.
For TV on the Radio fans or those curious about their live show, they’ll be playing at the Vogue in Indianapolis on October 19th. Their live act has been described as “transcendent,” so don’t miss it if you’re in the area over fall break.
Links:
Pitchfork Review of Dear Science
MP3: TV on the Radio – Golden Age
