TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light

[Salome]

Excellent.

 

[LemonMelon]

drip

drip

drip

drip

Spoiler

I like this one. It doesn't sound much like TVOTR, definitely more commercial than their previous work, but most of the songs are good. Definitely preferable to Nine Types of Light.

 

[iron yuppie]

Careful You is a banger, no question. And why the hell won't they tour in Chicago.

 

[cobl04]

Hmmm I'm not sure how to feel. It's definitely more consistent than Nine Types of Light but I don't know if it has the songs. Nothing at all really stuck out to me. I'll take Will Do, Second Song, Killer Crane over any of these.

I'm definitely buying it thought because the cover is so fucking sick. So hopefully it grows on me.

 

[nielsgov]

Test Pilot is the early stand-out for me.

 

[U2inUtah]

I like Ride

 

[cobl04]

I hope it grows on me. I couldn't resist buying the vinyl.

 

[david]

Does the vinyl have the cool artwork effect?

 

[bono_212]

Whoooaaa...yes, please.

 

[cobl04]

No idea, but pretty pissed off that it was an extra $10 to get a digital copy of the album. Better have a download code when it arrives.

 

[u2popmofo]

I like Ride

 

[U2inUtah]

Are you telling me to go drown in the ocean?

Spoiler

 

[Joey788]

I've only given this album a couple of listens but I enjoy it so far. Definitely not as good as Return to Cookie Mountain or Dear Science but it feels lie a grower.

I really enjoy the simmering vibe from Careful You and Seeds. Lazerray is one of their best rockers,

Sent from my SM-G730V using U2 Interference mobile app

 

[u2popmofo]

I definitely like this new album.

Spoiler

I'm always surprised to see people rate Dear Science highly.

 

[nielsgov]

Spoiler

I'm always surprised to see people rate Dear Science highly.

Agreed. There's not one TVOTR album I love from start to finish. Just like the others, Dear Science has some awesome tracks, most notably DLZ, and some boring stuff.

The following Breaking Bad compilation makes me enjoy that song even more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR4e19Fc98w

 

[LemonMelon]

Is Dear Science really ranked that highly around here? I see more complaints about it than the LPs/EP before it. The second half is pretty weak but the first six tracks are wonderful.

 

[djerdap]

Agreed. There's not one TVOTR album I love from start to finish.

I agree. The most consistent work they put out is the Young Liars EP, which is excellent from beginning to end.

 

[cobl04]

Cookie Mountain goes very fucking close.

 

[LemonMelon]

I can't think of much that I dislike on Cookie Mountain.

 

[u2popmofo]

Definitely one of my favorite albums of the last 10 years.

I like all their albums quite a bit.

 

[U2inUtah]

On Letterman tonight


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[iron yuppie]

This thing is definitely a mixed bag, but damn am I loving Careful You. That chorus is massive.

 

[u2popmofo]

It's similar to new U2 in that I feel like the second half is more consistent than the first, but I'm enjoying the whole album. Pretty happy with it so far.

 

[u2popmofo]

On Letterman tonight


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzhiCRnKIl4

 

[cobl04]

Ordered this in November. It has yet to show up. Got a free download to tide me over, but won't download in Chrome so I have to download the tracks individually. Thing had better fucking grow on me real fast.

 

[cobl04]

So more than three months after I ordered the fucking thing the vinyl arrived. Probably the best effort I've seen - there is a plastic sheet that comes with it so you can create that effect with the cover. Both (heavyweight) vinyls are coloured. There are two booklets, gatefold size, that contain artwork and lyrics, which is super awesome. There's also two bonus tracks on side D.

Unfortunately the album itself just doesn't quite stack up. The best TVOTR songs feel urgent, exciting, and there's very little of that here. On Seeds the lyrics are mostly empty platitudes about girls, there is very little that sticks with you. That would be okay if the music held up but it too isn't very gripping. THere's more focus on synthetics so the rhythm section goes missing quite a bit, which is a damn shame given how much it has propelled TVOTR songs in the past. Both Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe deliver underwhelming performances. There's also a concerted commercial push which results in terrible songs like Ride. The bonus tracks are a mixed bag. Nobody Else is embarrassingly bad but Mystery Eyes is better than 95 per cent of the record.

There's certainly good moments, Careful You, Test Pilot, Trouble, a few others, but overall a disappointing effort imo