The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/30393
New Music Notes by Mark Boshnack Contributed TV On The Radio ‘Nine Types of Light’ I have seen the future _ and you can dance to it. TV On The Radio reminds us about the possibilities with their new release, “Nine Types of Light.” They continue their dense sound, full of loops and layers that they developed on earlier albums including 2006’s “Return to Cookie Mountain” and 2008’s “Dear Science.” But their genre-blending sound is more ac- cessible on this work, and more fun to listen to. But it’s not a free ride. They took a year off after completing their last tour, and it sounds like time well spent. The new album ironically opens with “Second Song.” With a simple, spoken lyric, lead singer Tunde Adebimpe brings the listener into a battle between the mind and body, in which the body wins. The band then does what it does best and shifts gears. Adebimpe, with a little backing and a funky groove, urges, “Every lover on a mission/shift your known position into the light.” “You” is a beautiful song in which the singer urges his lover not to leave, “You’re the only one I’ve ever loved.” As the band proved on songs from previ- ous albums, such as “Wolf Like Me” and “Dancing Choose,” it knows how to kick it. “No Future Shock” is one of several tunes that do that on this album, with lyrics like, “Shake it like it’s the end of time.” Another is “Repetition,” which talks about the past, present and future of human na- ture. It starts off with a typically thought-pro- 14 O-Town Scene April 28, 2011 voking lyric, “To arrive ahead of its time/is the fate of a fish washed up on shore” over a driving, bass line. “But you know he just won’t feel right/till he’s swallowed up by the tide,” Adebimpe sings. You can count on this band from Brooklyn to provide something to think about on the dance floor. On a sad note, last week the band an- nounced the death of bass player Gerard Smith, from lung cancer. It is hard to listen to “Killer Crane,” and not think that his illness had an impact on the album. The band has always examined questions of life and death. The song’s hymn-like chords and interesting instrumen- tation that includes a banjo, tells a story of death and what comes afterward: “In isola- tion, a transformation.” The song that closes the album, “Caffeine Consciousness,” mixes genres with a grind- ing, rap-like chant, alternating with a sweet bridge. It’s during one of those breaks that Adebimpe sings: “Now I can see another language/ Gone optimistic. We’re going to survive.” Followers of TV on the Radio can look forward to facing the future with thought- provoling lyrics that talk of life, death and love, often with a beat you can dance to _ you can’t ask for more. Mark Boshnack is a reporter for The Daily Star and a music fiend. He can be reached at mboshnack@thedailys- tar.com.