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TV On The Radio: Nine Types of Light

Interscope

Throughout the last decade, TV On The Radio has blown minds with psychedelic art-rock, and buckled knees with aggressive future funk. On its fourth proper studio album, the group tackles the heart. Simpler, sexier and not as dangerous or unhinged as previous efforts, these are love songs. Though they focus primarily on soulful, slow jams, the members of TV On The Radio didn’t leave the past in Brooklyn when the band shacked up in multi-instrumentalist/producer David Sitek’s new LA pad to record Nine Types of Light. There are still layers of twitchy post-rock (“No Future Shock”), manic guitars (“Repetition”), dance beats (“Caffeinated Consciousness”) and a plethora of backing horns, vocal harmonies and synths—making even the most serene songs powerful and climactic. But the album clearly has a more mature aesthetic. Following the success and exhaustive tour cycle of 2008’s Dear Science, the members broke off and focused on solo projects, films and anything other than work together. The time apart was clearly healthy and it appears that one of the most influential bands of the past ten years will be just as important in the next ten years.