TV On the Radio - Nine Types of Light

Having long been something of an underground hit, TV On the Radio finally got real widespread attention with the 2008 release of Dear Science, a perfect combination of gutsy blues-rock and pop sensibilities from the Brooklyn-based art rock outfit. With their fifth studio album came the tragic news that bassist Gerard Smith was diagnosed with lung cancer - so tragic because of the sheer funkiness of album opener 'Second Song''s bassline. It's almost a big band take on the Go! Team, combining grand instrumentation and rich sounds with simple, guttural hooks.

'Keep Your Heart' sounds something like Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds collaborating with OutKast - another interesting combination of desperate romanticism and blues-pop that's as catchy as it is crooning. 'You' could just easily be put onto an Apple advert, with its bass hooks and kind of MGMT-style walls of synths that ebb and flow nicely and remind me a little bit of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, whilst the snare drums and pop influences of 'No Future Shock' reassert the fun times with loud and almost euphoric vocals.


After all of this bombasting it's a bit of a welcome return to their more mellow sound in 'Killer Crane' that really stands out on this album, a slow-burning strings-led piece that, with its inclusion of a banjo, would be a pretty decent inspiration for Mumford and Sons if they want to avoid becoming typecast. 'Will Do' is a pretty uneventful affair, sounding sort of like Massive Attack reimagined by The Roots.

However there's an urgency and a sleaze about 'New Cannonball Run' that quickly redeems that; seamlessly shifting between electronic twitches and trumpet chorals and peaking with a brass crescendo. There's then a foot-tapper in 'Repetition', an infernally catchy track that propells them into drivetime radio territory; complete with a slightly lame monologue. There's a distinct whiff of last year's Arcade Fire about 'Forgotten', a nostalgic-tinted view of summer that heralds in just a shade too much instrumentation that sounds a little bit crashy and unfocussed.


But the closer 'Caffeinated Consciousness" ably sums up the entire record - a fun, loud, enthralling piece of music that's just perfectly suited to anyone's summer playlist with its barked vocals and persistent hooks. I guess you could lament the loss of some of their previous material's melancholy, and there's not really much time inbetween dance-inducing hooks to ponder things over, but it's a pretty experimental and exciting record that revives the band and takes them in a whole new direction with accomplishment.

Rating: 8/10
Highlights: Killer Crane, Second Song, Caffeinated Consciousness, New Cannonball Run
Avoid: Forgotten, Will Do

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On a side note, I recently added a little flag-counter you can see to the right (if you're on this homepage) and I just thought I'd say hello to the new visitors - particularly the slightly exotic one-offs from Mauritius, Argentina and St Kitts and Nevis.