Premature Evaluation: TV On The Radio - Dear Science
TV On The Radio's third studio album Dear Science is their most cohesive collection so far. At first (and second) listen its highs might not seem as triumphant as "Staring At The Sun" or "Wolf Like Me," but on repeat listens, the consistency of its 11 tracks turns it into a more satisfying whole, and soon enough certain songs spread their wings, feel like some of the best of TVOTR's oeuvre. Throughout it's a more mature sound, desperate youth and young liars. Really, it might take ears a while to get: Dave Sitek's production is syrupy dense with a high count of horns, hand claps, pulses, and synthesizers. But let it sink in some because turns out our first tastes of the Brooklyn band's return from Cookie Mountain, the full-screed-ahead "Dancing Choose" and the funky, optimistic, P.M. Dawn-leaning "Golden Age" aren't the album's best.
One of the biggest, best punches is Dear Science's opener, "Halfway Home," which layers an upbeat "ba ba da ba," upfront handclaps, and dreamy whirls with layers of fuzzy synths and up-tempo percussion: Jesus & Mary Chain backing Peter Gabriel and the Commodores. When the falsetto kicks in, the guitars soar and more percussion finds space within the overall rhythmic flow: It's an icy, dark, ecstatic post-punk anthem. It's followed by another chilly track, "Crying." This is a funk piece, drawing back and harnessing the energy of "Halfway Home." There are horns, Prince-isms, and those skittering electronics, pulsations, some crystalline synth notes. It finds TVOTR wisely offering an early pace shift to the album -- upbeat, but not as unbridled as the opener -- because this is where Tunde jumps into the speedy enunciation of "Dancing Choose" (and its mellow-ass "In my mind I'm counting butterflies" chorus).
The crawling, elegiac "Stork And Owl" (strings, catchy/spare synth, but mostly those strings) leads into the radio-ready "Golden Age," which we've already discussed at length: horns and strings, synths and handclaps, polyrhythm in the pulse, vocals melting all over the horizon and word of "a golden age, coming around." What do folks think of "Family Tree"? It's a ballad. It's nostalgic. It has lines like "From the shadows of the gallows of your family tree / There's a hundred hearts or three / Put the blood to the roots of evil to keep them young." And it's good. "In Your Eyes" on "Disarm"?
After which you get the funky, Sly Stoned "Red Dress," its "fuck your war" and invitation to "come bear witness to the whore of Babylon," and the more hushed, romantic, and buoyantly building "Love Dog" and its Kid A electro-percussion, which set us up for the stellar crowd pleaser "Shout Me Out": It starts slow and spare (drums, electronics, Tunde) before opening into it's sing-a-long dare: "If you've got lungs, come on shout me out." Before that, though, he offers some of his catchiest, subtlest vocal melodies to date. This seems to be part of TVOTR's growth: No doubt Adebimpe can sing, but he's never sung so assuredly. How about that shift at 1:49? How about the "Runnin' Down A Dream" melody? It stays strong to the finish line with the kick-ass dark apocalyptic "DLZ" and the sunnier martial cadences of the sexy, escalating "Lover's Day," which includes guest vocals from Celebration's Katrina Ford, a skyrocketing lift and a great horn/choir arrangement that sends the album out on a high: "I hunger for you like a cannibal... / I'm gonna take you / I'm gonna shake you / I'm gonna make you come. / I swear to God it'll get so hot it'll melt our faces off." Lighters please.
Dear Science succeeds as a complete record. It doesn't feel like a couple of anthemic singles with filler. Or an odds and ends. Instead, TV's managed to sustain a feel that doesn't flatline during its 50 minutes. Fact is, we're pretty giddy. Good job, guys.
Dear Science is out 9/23 via Interscope.
Posted at 6:19 PM by stereogum in Premature Evaluation
Tags: TV On The Radio
I haven't listened enough to form a concrete opinion, but it's certainly sounding promising thus far. "Golden Age" is quite awesome, indeed. Nice post.
Score = 6
Had it in my ipod all day. I love it.
Score = 3
hey you guys actually like an album, good job
Score = -1
this is barely readable. i'm glad you're getting specific though -- these are often super vague. i'm so excited for this record!
Score = 6
Album of the year so far.
Score = 1
I may be alone but I think this album is insanely cheesy
Score = -4
No, you're not alone. I've given this thing 5 or so listens so far, and chalked it up as one of my year's bigger letdowns. It just bores me much the same way Okkervil River's "The Stage Names" did last year, despite all the good buzz. The thing I dislike about it is that throughout its cohesiveness, I feel the layers are too simplified and condensed. The abstract is what I liked about their previous work. I don't blame them for moving forward by all means, but from start to finish, it all just flows on the same sound and nowhere in between can I pinpoint a place that marks an impression.
Score = -13
Uh oh, it looks like my comment ticked off the TVOTR fans. Let's aim for a -25 score on the above comment, people. Heaven only knows nobody is able to have a differing opinion on here...
Score = -8
If you're bored by the Stage Names, i just feel bad for you man.
Score = 2
ejaculaic
Score = -14
this is their best album in my opinion. so so sick. saw them live the other day. it was unreal.
Score = 0
"Family Tree" is great. The best slow tune the band has penned yet. This track is already becoming one of my favs of '08...this is after only a few days, mind you.
Score = 11
Way late, but the correct answer is "Blind"
Score = 0
This album is so damn gorgeous. Totally satisfies my expectations.
Score = 8
Family Tree gives me goosebumps.
Score = 6
fucking awesome album.
I disagree that golden age isnt one of the best tracks. song is so amazing on building up this bottled energy of the song to the point where it explodes into the glorious chorus. phenomenal.
Score = 1
I haven't listened to it yet but quotes about none of the songs being as good as "Staring At the Sun" and "Wolf Like Me" scare me. Those are my two favorite songs from these guys.
Score = -1
On first listen, this album is a disappointment. I only liked about 2 of the 11 or so tracks. I'll take another stab at it tomorrow.
Score = -8
eat me
Score = -4
So far I have to agree that its very disappointing. The new Metallica album is better than this.
Score = -28
Snark aside, this really is a pretty poor effort. I think you guys are trying to convince yourself its good, simply because its TVOTR. As someone who has loved them since the beginning and has seen them 10 times, I have to bluntly say the emperor has no clothes here. It really is that bad.
Score = -10
what other cliches can you employ here to not make a substantial point?
has TVOTR jumped the shark too?
i think they hit it out of the park.
full speed ahead. like a deer in the headlights, you know?
stereogum comments are like pigs with lipstick on...or something...
Score = 2
Die. Metallica is sh!t compared to this.
Score = -1
"Dear Science" is a terrific achievement for them. It's their best work. Don't waffle on "Family Tree" either. It's one of my favorite tunes on the album.
Score = 5
Most cohesive? Are you on crack.. this has some real duds on it, its like either go the dancey route all the way or don't do it at all. All the reviews I read leading up to listening said they were going for more of a dance album, when really its like a few tracks. The one's that aren't dancey are pretty boring and cheesy. Big dissapointment for me.
Score = -4
I see what you are saying but after listening to it a handful of times now, I'd have to say that the compact cohesiveness and condensing of the layers is what I like about it. though I love the waves in varying sound from their previous works, I love how this album is so much more consistent in sound--and more upbeat than usual, at that. Then again, I've always been a bigger fan of albums that have a distinct sound from beginning to end than the ones that seem almost schizophrenic.
Score = 2
dancing choose is god awful, and the whole upbeat funky thing just sounds forced and contrived. this album is a massive dissapointment
maybe interscope forced them to do it this way
Score = 0
This album really does take two or three forced listens before it really hits you. But when it does, it hits you hard. TVOTR have really outdone themselves, they've continued to evolve their sound while keeping those parts that make their songs so damn good. Dancing Choose is probably my favorite song on the album, followed by Halfway Home and Stork and Owl. But damn. This whole album is amazing.
Score = 3
"This album really does take two or three forced listens before it really hits you."
Ding Ding Ding!
Score = -2
the beginning of family tree sounds a bit like coldplay...but then it gets 10 times better than any coldplay song
Score = -1
Especially if it is about Radiohead. People freak out about that around these parts.
Score = -1
Radiohead SUX!!!
Score = -6
The next time you describe a band's music, could you use at least fifty more other artists as reference points? I have no way of relating to music if it hasn't been compared to other music before.
Score = 2
half of you are wrong, and the review of this album as a whole is wrong too. i listened to it at work for the first time yesterday, then immediately listened to it again trying to find something, ANYTHING that correlated with this review and its thread comments. not only is this probably one of the best discs of the year, but it's easily TOTR's most accessible and instantly gratifying, which of course would disappoint anyone eventually rewarded by 'cookie mountain'. and that crap of no 'wolf like me' and 'staring at the sun' was just put in there to appease all the doubters, and at least six or seven songs on here rank with the best these guys have ever done.
and what is that stupid shit comparing 'family tree' to 'in your eyes' and 'disarm'? nice job! you immediately debased this band's first ever ballad to two of the most well known, sappiest ballads of all time. dick.
Score = 0
Negative. I think if an album is going to be accessible, that warrants some pretty good mass audience-friendly singles on it to bat (especially for a band on a major.) This album barely goes down that route. At least "Return to Cookie Mountain" had "Wolf Like Me" and "I Was a Lover." I can't see that any track here catching fire, although there are some generally listenable ones. That said, I think this is a disappointment and if a band is going to go for the accessible route, they should at least indulge all the way in the stereotypes that come with it, or don't do it at all. As far as it being instantly gratifying, no way here. It took me about 4 listens to find something I liked.
Score = -1
'cookie mountain' was in no way accessible. although they're great, 'wolf like me' and 'province' don't merit repeat listens on the basis of difficult-to-translate. but the rest of it basically needs cliff notes, like in that good way. so yes, it's a great album because i still listen to it and still find great things about it. and all i'm saying is that the first three tracks on 'science' are the most immediate, something i'm not sure anyone can say about the previous two or three records.
sorry, i've always considered this band to be challenging, and i know i'm in the minority of bleeding-hearted readers who are optimistic about follow-up records, but i can't help but feel like these guys have scored another home run.
Score = 0
I don't know, I can pretty much run through my head every track off "Return to Cookie Mountain" beat by beat and I can't do the same here. I feel like the entire album is just flatlining throughout. Agree to disagree? I think so. This is like the last Liars' album for me: Everyone loved it but it was my least favorite, despite being a huge fan of their's.
Score = 0
i think you are right on -- saying there is no "wolf like me" is just trying to appease the haters. this album is really wonderful. the slow jams emphasize the great production and vocal skills. the dance parts and horns are wonderful too. all in all they moved forward, and didn't stay stuck. one of the best of the year so far!
Score = 0
This is the best album of the year and this will be remembered as one of the best releases of the decade... now thats major hype I know, and dont tell me its too soon to think so because I am merely predicting what people will think of it in the future... Just wait and see... :)
Score = -4
why no byline?
is that a stereogum standard? or is it because that was a completely vacuous album review?
theres SO MUCH more to say about this album. off-the-mark comparisons and meandering descriptions are insulting to the music and the reader. sure it's a "premature evaluation" but even the most cursory listen by a thinking person should yield more substance.
absolutely the band's best. a joy to listen to, think about, and talk about. not here though--not much thought going on at the ol gum factory.
Score = -2
I think the responses here are coming from simply two different view points: the aging young adult who is more accepting of slower, cheesier, ballad-esque synth pop, and the still young hipster who wants their shit loud.
Score = -2
But this is the least loud album of TVOTR... the two previous albums had way more edge. If the young hipster likes this album better, then young hipsters like their albums with cheesier production. Cookie Mountain, turn it up loud their is a lot of fuzz.. not here. The album starts out really great, then its all over the place.
Score = 2
Only intellectual erudites like me appreciate this magnificent opus. All of you other blue collar plebeians should stick to music for simpletons, like Black Kids. TV on the Radio are sophisticated Black Adults. Look Martha, I made a pun. How droll.
Score = 4
I really don't like this album... :( love their last one and their wonderful e.p. so so much, but not this one.
Score = 0
Yet again, a great band takes their music into new territory, and their fanbase divides into two camps: those who are on-board, and those who apparently just want more of the same.
When I say I'm a fan of a band, that means I'm on board when they want to go in a new direction. I don't need the same album twice. I love it when bands experiment and push things forward. If you don't like that about your bands, then don't call yourself a fan of them. Just say you like their 'classic' album.
Otherwise open your mind and let the new album in. What the hell is comparing it to 'Return to Cookie Mountain' and their EPs going to get you? This album doesn't sound a thing like Cookie Mountain. Yet is DOES sound like TV on the Radio... and it's fucking beautiful.
Definitely one of the best of the year.
Score = 2
Gordon above wrote, "think you guys are trying to convince yourself its good, simply because its TVOTR."
The absolute laziest, dumbest criticism anyone can write about anything is prescribing motives to those who like/dislike something. "Well, if you like this album, you're just trying to..." It's infuriatingly stupid. I could very easily say that those who dislike this album are simply doing so because TVOTR is critically well-respected, and they want to seem like their so indie they don't like good music. But I'm not going do that.
I think this album is quite good. Is it as good as "Return to Cookie Mountain?" I have no idea; that was one of my favorite albums, and I listened to the shit out of it. This one didn't grab me quite as instantly, but with a few more listens, I'm liking it more and more. This album is poppier, but is that necessarily a bad thing?
Score = 0
Love, love, LOVE TVOTR. Can't wait to hear the new album.
Score = 0
yo I like the album. I agree there are duds; I find it hard to judge too harshly about not loving every song. So few albums are perfect. And it's pretty easy to delete songs off your computer. But I'm surprised the band isn't getting more flak about the album cover. really boring and cheap looking in my opinion. I've post "family tree" and one other on my blog, www.theShimm.com. Also posted some new KOL--not great but that bad either.
Score = 0
StereoGum has shitty taste in music. Really.
Score = -2
There is no way a TVOTR fan will hate this. I mean, I thought it would suck, because after cookie mountain, nothing could be that good. But it was, maybe better, i dunno, Im kinda leaning towards cookies right now. But it doesn't try to be cookies. I don't know how people say its a poor effort, or they can't get into it. I got into it the first listen. The only ones i didn't like so much was shout me out, red dress and (SORRY GUYS) golden age. But the rest is just simply breath taking. Can you hate this album? If the answer is yes, you hate everything good! You hate candy, fun and laughter. To say that the new album is just not as "weird" or "ambitious" on stereogum means you are to indie for one of the most indie bands. Go listen to Tapes n' Tapes and jerk off!!!!! Fuck you, you music nazi. You just hate them because they are black!
Score = 0
I despise this album, and just because I "can't enjoy" TV On The Radio's new shit means that I listen to that piece of garbage Tapes n' Tapes.
I prefer better music. You know, stuff like A Silver Mt. Zion, Paavoharju, Clipse, The Hold Steady, Elbow, The Arcade Fire, The Kinks, Iron & Wine. And if I can't enjoy a mediocre record that you enjoy oh so much, then tough luck for you kid.
Score = -2
The Arcade Fire?
Score = 0
Fantastic Album, Start to Finnish!!!
Score = 0
There is a pronounced Afro-beat influence I don't recall from their other albums. Red Dress is great, Crying and Golden Age are good. I can't stand Dancing Choose though.
Score = 0
I really really do. you make me shiver in a cold sweat of disturbed silence.
except for the ones that aren't completely negative nuggets.
Score = 0
I like it when bands go in new directions, but this album goes in a more mainstream direction as far as production goes. It's not a bad album by any means, Really good, it took me about 8 listens to really get into it... but when I put it on shuffle with other TVOTR albums, the other albums are just better imo. I can see how people might think this is their best album.. good for you, but to me it just lacks the passion of the previous. I think sitek's production is incredible, but he's getting to the point where he loses a lot of the emotion and immediacy of previous work.
Score = 0
pitchfork gave them a 9.2. A little surprised, but they are one of the "chosen" bands from the fork tho.
Score = -1
Brilliant album. I'm struggling to understand people that are saying it's a bad album. Yes, it definitely takes a few listens to click, but when it does I don't think there's a single track that I would skip.
And yes, as someone has already mentioned, it is a different direction to their previous albums, but what is the point of just knocking out more of the same? Bands like the Pixies, who, although I love to pieces, clearly ran out of ideas towards the third album and then fizzled out completely.
Dear Science is one of the best albums I've heard this year.
Score = 1