12.11.06

Intoxicated, oh so amazed

(TV On The Radio @ Koko, 10/11/06, by q.crescente)

When is it, and when is it not appropriate to have a man-crush? Is it ok when the object is like a flailing David McAlmont in Rock Gear, dancing - as has been said - almost pornographically?

I'm still not sure, but I'm denying everything. TV On The Radio live, as a whole though, this is another matter. This is rock'n'roll, sure, but it's rock'n'roll sexier than any you'll see this year. It's not lurid, it's not crass, it's highly articulate and beautiful music, but hot damn, it's sexy. TV On The Radio manage to formulate an almighty groove while at the same time creating a wash of almost white noise out of nothing in the background - it's that which makes Return To Cookie Mountain maybe the most exciting album released this year. They manage to combine a laconic, ice-cool guitarist with the biggest hair in the world with an impossibly lithe frontman in Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe respectively and it's this duo that create the beautiful contrasts and glorious noise that is this reinvention of rock. Because TVOTR sound like no-one else. Or should I say, no-one else sounds like TVOTR, because their sound is properly Out There, an amalgamation of the most unlikely ingredients into the most delectable sonic soup. Witness the highlights.

The Music
TV On The Radio @ The Showbox, Seattle (video)


TV On The Radio - Province

I'm beginning to love Province. I loved it before, but now I'm beginning to love it. That cataclysmic shift of chord just before Tunde sings "hold your heart courageously as we walk into this dark place, stand, stare fast, erect and see that love is the province of the brave." Those beautiful falsettos. Man-crush time.

The 'fo
Artist: TV On The Radio
Website: tvontheradio.com
Recommended: Return To Cookie Mountain (metacritic 87)
Label: 4AD
Buy: Amazon
More: Hype Machine; elbo.ws
If you like this you might like: The Sound Of McAlmont & Butler
Tags: TV On The Radio; 4AD; Return To Cookie Mountain; alternative; rock; soul; funk

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

can i just say that i love it when men admit to man-crushes. oh yeah.

and tvotr--fantastic. province is hands-down my favorite song on the album. tunde live is something to behold--didn't you love how his free arm seemed almost as though it was another creature that couldn't be contained? mesmerizing.