Tv On The Radio – Dear Science,

November 10, 2008 in Music
Tags: Dear Science, Tv On The Radio

It seems to me like TV On The Radio are one of those bands that just get better and better with each album. I bought their first full album “Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes” after a single page article in Bang Magazine. The combination of woozy guitars, programmed beats and harmonising vocals were totally compelling. Thier followup album, Return To Cookie Mountain was even better and tracks like “Province” and “Wolf Like Me” are two of my favourites. Now after listening to their latest, Dear Science, it looks like they’ve done it again. I know it will seem strange for me to dub a band that are seemingly really talented musicians, as “maturing”, but Dear Science, feels like a truely progressive record.

It’s definately slicker and has a radio friendly sheen, whereas TVOTR’s previous albums sometimes sounded a bit ragged round the edges (which I liked). Songs like the singles “Golden Age” and”Dancing Choose” are tight, dancey numbers that definately get your butt moving. Opener “Halfway Home” comes across like a cross between Gary Numan and the Beach Boys, until it’s searing guitar-led climax. Other tracks like like “DLZ” and “Red Dress” have the dense soundscapes that you’d expect from a TVOTR song. There’s also the climatic “Lover’s Day” which trasmutes from a droning, jerky track to a fiddle-led folk stomper.

But the standout track is the haunting and melancholy “Family Tree”. It sounds so unlike the rest of the album, but not in a grating way. The processed beats and elecronics are absent, but replaced with a simple combination of vocals, strings and piano. As soon as I heard it, it stuck in my head and I knew it would be the best track on the album; it’s that special. It’s genuinely impressive to me how much the band has evolved from Return to Cookie Mountain; this is Tv On The Radio’s best album yet and a must purchase.

Tv On The Radio – Golden Age: