i listened to this cd after reading about 20 different 'this is the best album of the year'-type reviews. i listened and i got nothing from it. sure, it was ok, but it wasn't anything special. i remember telling z that it wasn't like they were breaking new ground or anything. the very next thing i said to him was when i had the epiphany - "it's just beach boys meets trip hop." well, it isn't exactly that (there's a solid dose of noise in there, for starters), but then i waited a day and realized that the tracks weren't politely leaving my brain like so many albums before it. then i waited another day and found myself humming along with track 6, a dark track entitled "a method." i listened to that track a few times, then, not wanting to dismiss the album completely, i gave it a whole listen. and then a different song got stuck in my head. and then another. and then another. and now i think every song has visited that special spot in my brain for a few days each. you cherish that spot, i'm sure. tv on the radio's latest has turned that spot into a dirty whore.
z dropped a review of the last tv on the radio disc, desperate youth, blood thirsty babes, over a year ago. he wrote this line towards the end of the review:
a quick overview of the noteworthy tracks, since its obligatory (i think i say that in every review i write)-
track 1: as straightforward a track as you'll find round these parts. very welcoming despite the sad overtones.
track 5: the most outward energy on any track, i think. this was the second track to seize my brain.
track 9: tv on the radio's take on blues is the 2006 version of led zeppelin's take on blues at the end of IV. i just worked zep into a tv on the radio review. just sayin.
track 10: two words: haun-ting. so haunting that it turns the word 'haunting' into two words. probably my favorite song, but that's only today.
this might be the best album i've reviewed for this site.
9.5/10
z dropped a review of the last tv on the radio disc, desperate youth, blood thirsty babes, over a year ago. he wrote this line towards the end of the review:
there are no hooks. no catchy choruses. the vocalists are rarely sharp in their deliverywell, let's fucking throw that out. return to cookie mountain is covered in hooks, sharp delivery, and catchy choruses. it solidly picks up the musical themes that z mentioned, but it is brimming with confidence, which, i imagine, makes all the fucking difference. confidence, man, that's what it's all about. all of it.
a quick overview of the noteworthy tracks, since its obligatory (i think i say that in every review i write)-
track 1: as straightforward a track as you'll find round these parts. very welcoming despite the sad overtones.
track 5: the most outward energy on any track, i think. this was the second track to seize my brain.
track 9: tv on the radio's take on blues is the 2006 version of led zeppelin's take on blues at the end of IV. i just worked zep into a tv on the radio review. just sayin.
track 10: two words: haun-ting. so haunting that it turns the word 'haunting' into two words. probably my favorite song, but that's only today.
this might be the best album i've reviewed for this site.
9.5/10