What you say
No-one has reviewed Dear Science by TV On The Radio yet.
What we say
 This record left our Phil feeling happy.
I've pretty much obsessed about TV On the Radio since I first heard 'em. The 1st 2 albums were smart. I can't decide which I prefer as both have some tremendous songs on. So here's the 'difficult' third album 'Dear Science'. I was blown away by the opener.... Amazing skewed pop with some gorgeous feedbacky guitars in the background smothered in incredible vocals which are strung together in perfect harmony. It's a completely inventive pop tune.... On first listen the rest of the album just seemed OK after that.. Beware the dangers of front loading your album!! Mind you on 2nd listen it's making more sense... it's more poppy and there's definitely a more soulful approach for sure. BUT it features all the TOTR trademarks of amazing harmony packed vocals, skittery drums and brilliant tunes. I can hear it's a total grower already!! I'm not entirely sure where TV On the Radio came from or how they come with these ideas... The main singer still sounds like Peter Gabriel and I'm still thinking of AR Kane when I hear 'em but there's more originality in one of their tunes than most bands have in their careers. I need to spend more time with it but after 2 listens I can confirm this actually rules....
What the label says:
First there was ‘Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes’, then there was ‘Return To Cookie Mountain’ and now there is ‘Dear Science’.
The album's opener, 'Halfway Home', is vintage TVOTR - a rich, speaker-swallowing canvas of careening beats, buzzing riffs and bloodletting vocals. Things get strange from that point on, however, as mirror balls spin (a dare-we-say-danceable 'Crying', the helicopter hook of 'Golden Age') and Adebimpe attacks 'Dancing Choose' like a mic-wielding battle rapper.
•And then there are the glimmers of drum & bass ('Shout Me Out'), drunken horn sections ('Red Dress', one of several songs to feature members of Antibalas), and carefully-plucked film score strings ('Stork & Owl') that spice up what's clearly TVOTR's most challenging effort yet. Not challenging in the sense of being a rough listen—challenging in terms of rewriting the group's supposed gloomy, stormy aesthetics.
If you still toss on such beautifully-damaged tracks as 'Dreams' and 'Ambulance' when times get tough, don't worry—TV On The Radio still go for the jugular in the melancholic and moody department. In fact, some of ‘Dear Science’ sounds downright menacing.
Take 'DLZ': a fang-baring "fuck you" to the idea of death being "your last chance to do anything" according to Adebimpe, it's some of most frightening, and affecting, music in the TVOTR canon. 'Stork & Owl' is much more muted in its mix of skittering beats, wilting strings and gorgeous, multi-tracked harmonies but good luck putting on a happy face after succumbing to its postmodern soul soundtrack. |
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