Review: TV on the Radio

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TV on the Radio
“Return to Cookie Mountain”
(Interscope)

The guys in TV on the Radio reside within another plane of existence. Their world is one where past and present collide. They pull all of the varying energies comprising New York City’s history into a vortex they then retranslate and reinterpret. They are Charlie Parker and John Coltrane.

They are Jack Keroauc and Allen Ginsberg. They are Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. They are The Velvet Underground and The Talking Heads. They are the most important band to emerge out of “indie rock” in the last decade. Their sophomore album, “Return to Cookie Mountain” sees the promise of “Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes” (Touch & Go), but takes it to a more internal, alienated place. Without any “hits” like “Staring at the Sun,” “Return…” might at first seem handicapped, but as the album grows it hypnotizes the listener into following Kyp, Tunde and Dave to a futuristic, yet antique New York that energizes as it frightens.

Review: TV on the Radio