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Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
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Customer Reviews
Rating:  - Great!
I got this CD after Return to Cookie Mountain. At first I thought I liked Cookie Mountain better, but now I listen to this one more. It's great.
Rating:  - Oh! the album this could've been
First off, let me say how much I appreciate the ingenuity in this album. The Wrong Way is almost flawless. An announcing horn section leads you through the intro to this album. It's the only song on the album to which I would give the vaunted five stars. Staring at the Sun is the next song and the first song which displays the problems with this album as I see it. The beats don't go anywhere as adventurous as the introductions. In each song there is such an intriguing introduction. We enter into a new world, such as the one Alice in Wonderland was introduced by the rabbit. When we first enter these songs, the possibilities seem endless. Where will they take us? What horizons are approached by these intriguing artists who have presented us with something so new, so different. Unfortunately, we learn as we progress through the caverns that the highlights are all in the intros. This was all corrected, in my opinion, in The Return to Cookie Mountain. That may be the less flawed album. I listened to this album many times, trying to understand the abundant critical praise. I never understood it. Did these guys show promise...Heck yeah, but they weren't there yet, as Cookie Mountain proved. This isn't the album with which to start your TV on the Radio collection. Many people loathe reviewers like me who will only provide one star or five, but I don't normally feel inspired to write an review for the two to four album or book. This album is the could've been, should've been that Cookie Mountain was. It was upon hearing Cookie Mountain that I thought back on what was missing with this album. Maybe they should've added a more substantial bridge to the heart of the song that took us away from the workings of the song, then brought us back. Maybe this is why, other than the classic single The Wrong Way, I never made it past two to three minutes on any of the other songs. Cookie Mountain is the real deal though, and it has earned the praise the critics gave it, and it has earned repeated plays in all of my music devices.
Rating:  - as a sophomore release, it's damn good
it's very rare that any band as celebrated as this one survives their own press to make a truly great 2nd album. TV on the Radio has a fascinating arc ahead of them, since they don't fit into any real genre. they're not indie rock, they're not emo, and they're only vaguely post-punk. but they swoop through experimental fun in a manner that's reminiscent of Bowie, synthesizing genres until you're not sure what you're listening to. for me, that's part of the fun: trying to get into each song with no judgements about the genre it's supposed to evoke. however, my genre preferences show through in which tracks i enjoy - unlike the other reviewers, King Eternal grabbed me instantly because i love rhythmic and repetitive noise music and have some roots in the goth aesthetic, whereas Dreams was simply a 'eh, it's definitely got a distinct hipster vibe.' Wear You Out delighted me because it instantly reminded me of Gang of Four, though i couldn't quite explain why, but Ambulance evoked merely an 'interesting...' from me. i do enjoy the trip through it, though, and while i only find King Eternal something i'd listen to over and over on its own, the album shows a lot of thought and evolution, which i find impressive for a 2nd release, and which makes me happy to listen through it as a whole.
if you decide to purchase this release, don't go into it thinking that you're going to get a rapid-rockin' type of thing. go into it knowing that this is a pastiche of influences for a band trying to live up to its own hype.
Rating:  - Lack the skills to pay the bills.
OK, I get it, they're not SUPPOSED to be a straight up rock 'n roll band and as such I should probably ignore the fact that they rock about as hard as...oh, I don't know...Coldplay. Fine. That's forgiven.
But the rock is not the only thing that's missing from these lads. Try as hard as you may and if you can find one shred of genuine fire and passion in the music you've either looked a lot harder than I have or you have a lower set of expectations. I'll bet every last dollar in my pocket that the latter is the case. None of these songs ever get to the boiling point. Sometimes they simmer but most of the times they're the equivalent of watching a potato cook.
I can (barely) hear some interesting influences (I bet they like Fela Kuti, Sly and The Family Stone, The Gang Of Four, Suicide and maybe Spoon) but these boys lack the skills to touch any of these people (except Britt Daniels that is).
The clumsy guitar diddling, the morose drumming and the uninspiring compositions leave me cold. You may find yourself wishing they would've done more with the horn section on "The Wrong Way". Wishing they would have have abandoned the pretentious ululating on "Ambulance" and "Poppy". Wishing the noises were more interesting on "Wear You Out". Wishing they had more skill. Wishing you'd spent your money on something more inspiring (like James Brown, for example).
As it is, they're a second rate band in a second rate music scene.
Rating: - Unique.
Well, being an all-black indie rock band, TV on the Radio are already pretty unique in the genre. However, it doesn't stop there. These guys have a really cool, interesting, original sound. Take the Pixies, and throw in elements of soul, techno, 50s doo-wop, and many other things, and you have some idea.
Plenty of surprises and diversity from track to track, from the Motown-ish "The Wrong Way", to the dark, fuzzy distortion of "Staring at the Sun", to the all-acapella "Ambulance", to the insanely eclectic "Poppy". Not a bad song, and never a dull moment.
Highly recommended to fans of indie rock. The purists (and they're out there) might not care for this, but if you want something out of the ordinary, definitely check this out.
(Also, this band has a really cool doo-wop cover of the Pixies' "Mr. Grieves". But it's not on here.)
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