TV On The Radio Plays With Science

BY: PATRUCK MCCORMICK

Formed in the early 2000s and occasional collaborators with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Liars among others, New York’s TV On The Radio is something like an African-American Radiohead. “African-American” is not a stand in for “Black” here, but rather used to point out that it is distinctly African and American, in addition to its traditional definition. They’ve made a thrilling career out of combining blues, soul, and doo- wop with electronica, industrial and krautrock, along with elements of assorted world music, and the result is generally majestic, moving art rock that’s as atmospheric as it is gritty.

Dear Science, the quintet’s latest full-length album changes the formula, exchanging blues and soul for funk and hip-hop. Consequently, where TV on the Radio’s work had previously been concerned with melody and texture, it’s now driven by rhythm and energy. The drums and guitars in TV on the Radio’s past work, which were typically electronically manipulated, played fairly simple parts which together drove a stately, commanding, and singular beat. On Dear Science, however, the guitars are clean and intricate, and the drums are discrete from the electronically programmed beats, melding with them to create complex polyrhythms, rather than merely supporting them. Dear Science moves away from TV on the Radio’s formerly monolithic sound to one that emphasizes the individual players. One of the most dramatic shifts is hearing vocalists Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe as individual singers rather than part of an anonymous chorus.

Illustrating TV on the Radio’s newfound fascination with interlocking, complex instrumental parts are “Crying,” and “Golden Age,” the album’s first single. The former is a complex funk track, driven by an off-kilter rhythm influenced by African pop music. Also featuring light electronic touches, the most prominent of which is a pretty, descending vintage synthesizer line, which appears towards the end, “Crying” also introduces a horn section that reappears throughout the album. “Golden Age” is similar, though harder, darker, and catchier. Much more American in flavor, “Golden Age” adds a string section, and the result is one of TV on the Radio’s most fascinating songs yet. The slower songs on Dear Science, like “Stork and Owl,” “Love Dog,” and “DLZ,” are deep and reverb-heavy, and, though lush, leave plenty of sonic space wide open.

The most radical departure, and one of the most intriguing songs on the album, is “Dancing Choose,” perhaps the most driving, energetic, and intense song of TV on the Radio’s career. Musically, the song revolves around a thick, grinding synthesizer loop, and some critics have compared Tunde Adebimpe’s vocal performance on this track to rap. In truth, Adebimpe’s vocal is more intricate and urgent than most hip-hop, really much closer to the rapid-fire, motor-mouthed, hyper-rhythmic delivery employed by H.R., vocalist of hardcore punk legends Bad Brains, on some of their best tracks. Dear Science is, in many ways, far removed from TV on the Radio’s previous work, though unlike many bands who have undertaken massive sonic overhauls, Dear Science is a well-fashioned, pleasing record.

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