I was a lover, before this war
Better than the Secret Machines?
Another album of the year has arrived: Return To Cookie Mountain. I've been aware of Brooklyn's TV On The Radio (not, we must assume, named in honour of Tommy Vance), but I've never sat down and listened to a whole album of theirs - I know, their first one was really a big EP. This, their second or third, depending on whether you count the first one, has turned my head. I can't stop listening to it. It reminds me of early Peter Gabriel, Psychedelic Furs and the Afghan Whigs, a rum list which may already have piqued your interest. It's so rhythmically interesting, and Tunde Adebimpe's vocals are soulful and oblique at the same time. This is dark, funky rock music that really pulsates and intrigues (and I had no idea of the band's racial makeup when I first heard them - four black, one white - which takes away any preconceptions). It reminds me of Ten Silver Drops by Secret Machines only in that it has captivated me in the same way and proves that big rock music does not have to be vague, woolly, ploddy and soulless, like Keane and Snow Patrol and latter Coldplay. God is in the sonic details, the droning sample on I Was A Lover, for instance. David Bowie is a fan of TVOTR and appears, vocally, on Province, but it is testament to the band's innate Bowieness that it sounds like him singing on Playhouses too. It's currently at number one in the 6 Music Chart, which means it has not troubled the Official UK Top 40 - another similarity with the Secret Machines album - and thus remains one of those "rock's best-kept secret" phenomenons.
posted by Andrew Collins @ 1:31 PM
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8 Comments:
It's a great record, and in my opinion better than their last one (the hugely acclaimed and Shortlist winner Desperate Youth Bloodthirsty Babes) by some mark. Wolf Like Me is a great single, and along with the three you mentioned Andrew, is the best of a good bunch.
It's getting a lot of press this record, a lot of good reviews - Pitchfork gave it 9.1/10 - so I think their about to break the big time, big time. Well deserved.
I don't quite understand what point you're making about the Secret Machines non-tour. I went to see them touring 'Ten Silver Drops' in Bristol having just purchased the album, albeit via iTunes, as a 'digital exclusive'. I think the CD release may have only been a few days later, pretty much complementing the tour?
My mistake, CMS. I'll amend the entry for reasons of truth!
I saw your review of in on Amazon, very inspiring.
I loved Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes but haven't got round to getting hold of, or even hearing, this one yet. With such lofty receommendations, I shall correct that forthwith.
I must take issue with the lumping in of Snow Patrol as "vague, woolly, ploddy and soulless". If you excuse Coldplay's earlier work by adding the word 'latter', Snow Patrol's excellent Jeepster albums should allow them similar part-exemption status. Eyes Open, while not without numerous moments of blandness, still contains the odd moment that sets them apart from the Keane's of this world.
I agree Steve, Snow Patrol's early stuff and the Reindeer Section stuff does set Gary Lightbody's work apart from Keane and Kubb, Blunt and Gray et al.
That said I don't like the more recent SP albums, and it does pain me that they have compromised themselves for wider success in the coffee shop/table market.
I don't know if any one knows of the band The Automatic, any thoughts on them? A bit unrelated to TV On The Radio but we're on the topic of music! I think they're fantastic and the NME review was spot on.
Funnily enough I bought the previous TV On The Radio album in the same order from Amazon as the first Secret Machines mini LP. I've just realized I still haven't listened to that TVOTR album yet...
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