Dear Science is the third album to be released by TV on the Radio
Fuzzy guitars, bursts of pounding drums and hand-claps introduce a reverb-laden voice on TV on the Radio’s new album Dear Science. Whereas the innovative sound on their previous two albums has often alienated and disappointed some listeners (yours truly included), this album looks set to put their mix of electro-dance and progressive indie firmly in the ‘accessible’ category.
Think Bloc Party, if they had actually succeeded in representing the R&B influences they so often harked on about.
TV on the Radio have long been the critics’ favourite for their pioneering tunes, and the new album looks set to continue the trend, having already received a rare ‘9.0’on the influential pitchforkmedia.com.
Yet this is not just the critics’ love of the weird; this is a successful clash of diverse styles, creating a catchy yet original whole.
Second song Crying, for example, has a suspiciously funky guitar riff, followed then by the genre-smashing Dancing Choose whose torrent of half-spoken-half-sung lyrics gives way to a melodic, and somewhat sentimental, chorus: “In my mind I’m drowning butterflies/broken dreams and alibis/that’s fine.” The dark lyrics, when mixed with their own brand of electro-dance, are haunting, but when they are mixed with their brand of downbeat electronica, they are downright disturbing.
These are competent songwriters, and so the over-complication of some of the songs always gets resolved by the chorus’ or even by the following slower songs, which in my opinion show TV on the Radio at their best:
Family tree, Stork & Owl and Love Dog in particular stand out.
Dear Science is released on 4AD records.
