Taking a turn into the alternative with their third studio album CD Dear Science, experimental indie-rock band TV on the Radio has found yet another musical sub-genre to blend into their already mish-mashed sound.
While the band has never made their music an easy experience for new listeners to embrace, with enough dedication their style emerges as something new, different, and special.
That being said, Dear Science may be the hardest, most intriguing album yet. It may also be their best.
Opening with "Halfway Home," the band announces their sound to listeners cautiously at first, starting with measured drumbeats and slow-paced lyrics.
The progression occurs two minutes into the track, employing high-pitched vocals that eventually deteriorate into fast-paced electronica guitar rock with a heavy drumming climax.
The album's second track, "Crying," is funky yet simple, showcasing lead singer's Tunde Adebimpe's versatile voice, which jumps from one tonal range to the next with impressive ease.
"Dancing Choose" follows, a fast-paced alternative track pushed by spoken word lyrics that feels like a late 80s hip-hop track accelerated by indie-rock execution reminiscent of Broken Social Scene.
"Stork and Owl" slows things down and will remind TV on the Radio fans of the slower tracks of the band's sophomore album, Return to Cookie Mountain, such as "I Was a Lover."
This leads to "Golden Age," the first single off of the new album, which tries to combine the band's entire discography into one song. The result is all at once muddled and masterful, mainly redundant until the chorus emerges, consistently saving the song from itself.
This is followed by "Family Tree," which quickly becomes everything Coldplay strives to be, a simple ballad with an echoing piano solo and string accompaniment in the background.
"Oh Take my hand sweet/ Complete your release somewhere in your feet/ And married will be alone in receiving ashes of feelings," sings Adebimpe, the rest of the band singing background vocals.
The rest of the album gets comfortable with a funky backbeat at some points (see tracks "Love Dog" and "Shout it Out") and gothic indie-rock at others (see "DLZ"). Finishing with the polarizing, jazz-fused march anthem "Lover's Day," TV on the Radio reminds listeners that their music does not conform to genre or style, burning a unique trail that will gather just as much followers as it will lose.
