Although one their core trio (multi-instrumentalist David Sitek) has produced hip outfits like Liars and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, exciting new collective TV ON THE RADIO don't require hip credentials to mark out their territory in a New York City scene that's still bubbling away like crazy, even aftre bringing us a host of brilliant bands such as The Walkmen, Radio 4, Stellastarr* and unsung talent like Provan and Matches FC.
Indeed, TV On The Radio - who also comprise vocalist Tunde Adebimpe, scarily-afroed guitarist/ vocalist Kyp Malone, bassist Gerard Smith and drummer Jaleel Bunton - are truly something else. Aside from having a brilliant title, their debut album "Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes" is never less than ambitious in scope and execution and even taken alone, the opening track "The Wrong Way" - where cool alto sax gets immediately hi-jacked by a barrage of bass, dense grooves and deliciously sweet falsetto vox from Adebimpe and Malone - is an encapsulation of how far TV wish to shove the musical manilla.
The rest of the album continues to take risks, broadly marrying the uber-funk of George Clinton and Gil Scott-Heron to the nervy, tense post-punk NYC sounds originally fashioned by the likes of James White, Talking Heads and (at a push) Liquid Liquid, though with hefty dollops of gospel and dub flung fearlessly into the mix. It's a fascinating - and uncompromising - listen, but one that requires some work.
The end results always reward, though, and highlights are spread evenly. "Staring At The Sun" for instance, features Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner on wired, textural guitar, but the track itself is all bleached falsetto vocals, funk tics and dense no-wave moves bouncing off primitive loops, while "King Eternal" hitches a mega, growling bassline to curious, stabbing rhythms, glitchy electronica and drifting, heavily-treated guitars.
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It's odd, furiously compelling and surprisingly evangelistic music. Indeed, the testiyin', falsetto-style vocals from Adebimpe and Malone ensure TV stand out from the pack immediately, and lend a true, gospel-infused edge to the proceedings on tracks like "Poppy", where fractured, PIL-ish guitar and a ponderous groove finally surrender to an unbelievably sweet'n'tender vocal exploration. Admittedly "Ambulance" turned me off with its' wholly acapella stance suggesting (horror of horrors) The Flying Pickets initially, but several listens in its' complexity reveals itself, not to mention the jarring effect of spooked lyrics like: "I will be your ambulance if you will be my accident." Whoo. Shivers down the backbone or what?
Elsewhere, a love of dub sticks its' head over the parapet, not least on "Dreams" and the apocalyptic "Bomb Yourself". The former features an eerie chorus of "all your dreams are over now, and all your wings have fallen down" set to a dense billow of guitars and subterranean bass, while on "Bomb Yourself", the dubbed-out groove gets rained on by shards of clipped, post-punk guitar junk and a truly potent (sample lyric: "so baby bomb your country and sit and smile") political commentary which is impossible to shrug off with US elections looming.
"Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes", then, is quite a calling card. It's deep, arty, self-aware, politically-charged, extremely forward-looking and - crucially - mostly pretty danceable. TV On The Radio have arrived, so make sure to book a regular slot.
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