Dear Science

Had 0 expectations going in, and it turned out to be really cool and intersting. Also, one of the songs is used brilliantly in Breaking Bad, so thats something.

I was so obsessed with their first EP and album when they came out. I really like their balance of instrumentation and electronics/samples. I think their greatest asset above all is Tunde Adebimpe's voice though. They are a great example of a sort of "post modern" band that don't come off too arty as to be inaccessible. Similar to Talking Heads perhaps in that way. Interesting combination of influences that ends up culminating in their own unique sound.

Time for a confession: I own the actual 1001 Albums book (2014 edition). This album was one of the few times where I felt compelled to crack open the tome and learn why deserved a place in the music history canon. After reading, I'm still not totally sure. There's reference to clear influences (Peter Gabriel and Prince) and the album's sound (soulful vocals over electronic explorations), but nothing that really answers as to WHY I'm listening to this. I think that TV On The Radio might just a be a middle-of-the-road indie darling to point to for hipster points (remember, this was 2008. Hipster culture was alive and well). But now, over a decade later in 2021, I feel this album needs some sort of staying power other than just being "pretty good". Was it largely influential? Did it build upon it's own influences in a unique and compelling way? Is it indicative of a certain music scene or genre? I need the people over at 1001 to throw me a bone with this one because I can't always pick up everything you're laying down. I guess when you're recommending 1001 albums, a few aren't going to stick the landing. We'll try again tomorrow, I suppose.

A band I never heard of, an album of songs I didn’t recognise. What a treat this was. So much going on, interest, varied, fun. Definitely one I will keep coming back to

Don't know how I missed probably a decade of this band being relevant, liked them more and more the more I've heard, this was an unexpected good find

Brilliant record. I have had this band recommended to me for years, but tried to listen to them before my tastes had expanded. This album was wonderfully written, arranged, and produced and fearlessly explores and transcends genre. My favorite tracks were Halfway Home, Golden Age, and DLZ.

A lot of great records lately! This album is packed with ideas and a sampling of flavours across the indie, funk, soul, and rock spectrum. I can't help but imagine Prince grooving to this. There's something so rooted, yet forward facing about the music. This album holds up remarkably well 14 years later--it sounds like it could have been released last week. 4.5/5 Favourite track: "Halfway Home"

This is one on the greatest album of the 2000's decade. There is nothing else that sounds quite like it. You could always point out "Oh, they took inspiration from Radiohead, Brian Eno..." and so on and so on, but Dear Science is such a bigger project that stands out more that the influences that fed it. The electronic/synth undertones with the funky bass is the perfect backbone for the talents of this band. There are so many layers in these songs, but they never feel overdone. I think there's something for everybody in this album, which is its greatest strength. TV on the Radio knew what they were doing when they made this. Favorite Song: Family Tree Least Favorite: Really can't pick one...the whole album is phenomenal.

Maybe the best band to come out this millennium. Like a more funky Arcade Fire

Pour être très franc avec vous, je m'attendais à entendre un album de musique et non le service client d'un opérateur téléphonique. On clique sur Dear Science et on est immédiatement plongé dans l'attente: "Patientez, un conseiller va vous répondre..." On se demande alors dans quoi Robert Dimery vient de nous embarquer. "Restez en ligne, un conseiller va vous répondre..." Au bout d'une cinquantaine de minutes, on nous dit la phrase suivante : "Tous nos conseillers sont actuellement en ligne, nous vous invitons à renouveller votre appel ultérieurement." Quelle frustration...

"A bombshell: as good as it undoubtedly is, this record isn't going to change your life. Nor will it be considered an OK Computer or a Velvet Underground & Nico in ten years' time. Did it ever promise to be? Some people seemed to think so, and many still might." - Rob Webb, Drowned in Sound. It's ten years on, and I think his prediction has become true. This was the flavour the year, 2008, but do we really still need to listen to this record? It sounds great, it's smart and approachable, even if little short on real hooks and energy. 1001 Albums; I suspect this was a relatively fresh album when putting together whatever edition this went into, but I'm willing to bet it will be cut from the next edition. Just my little prediction there.

Blech - songwriting is at best cheesy/lazy, the tonal flow jumps all over the place, and the tracks are too long by at least 1-2 minutes each. This is the first album that's made me question the mechanism behind the list. Surely there are more seminal albums from the aughts than this one?

Didn’t do it for me. Really didn’t see what was so special about this album.

I appreciate this more than I enjoy it. Great song structures and production, some really catchy stuff, but somehow it never totally gets in my head.

This is an affirmation that I’m not just tired of that one song they have, but that I really do not like them. There was maybe one good song on here, but too much of it sounded like dudeman was trying waaaaaay to hard to sound like Bowie and failed miserably. I’d give it 0 if I could. Awful.

This album had a huge influence on my musical tastes when it arrived in 2008, and my opinion of it has only improved since then. No other band sounds quite like TV on the Radio, and TV on the Radio has never before or again sounded as good as they do on this album. It is the pinnacle of a completely unique art rock style the band commands all to themselves; a near-perfect listen from start to finish. I couldn't even describe the least memorable songs on this album like "Stork & Owl" and "Red Dress" as anything less than great. Meanwhile, the best songs on this album "Golden Age" and "DLZ" are on my playlist of all-time favourite songs, across all genres. Standout tracks: There isn't a bad (let alone average) song on this album, but the cream of the crop for me are "Halfway Home", "Golden Age", "Family Tree", "Love Dog" and "DLZ".

This album has no business being this great, straight banger after banger

Awesome album that beautifully blends post-punk, art rock, funk, and electronic elements. Every song rules. 5 stars.

Wow. This was totally unexpected... Every track is completely different - so mature and interesting. Prob my favourite new album so far! Fav new track: Tough to call and will prob change on re-listens, but maybe Love Dog.

Pretty much a perfect album. 5/5

They had me charmed from the ba-ba-ba ba ba at the start of the Peter Gabriel-esque Halfway Home. I love this song a lot a lot a lot. My love continues through Crying, Dancing Choose ("bought a sweater for his Weimaraner, too"), the funky bass and glorious chorus of Golden Age, Love Dog, and Dogs of Light. And finally, my favorite, Shout Me Out, with its tempo change and wailing second half. The songs are hard to categorize but this record is good good good.

On Dear Science, TV On The Radio continues to carve out their niche as the thinking person's indie band, merging eclectic sounds with cerebral themes.

I'm not sure why I thought this was a band from the 80s, but considering that this album came out in 2008, it's a great mix of the sound from the early 2000s and today.

Music media darling. Awfully catchy front to back, and DLZ is now inseparable from the "stay out of my territory" scene in Breaking Bad. But it didn't, like, blow my mind right out, and unfortunately I've been conditioned to expect that from all the times I've seen allusions to this album.

This was a really good album. It's well written, clever, emotional, and fun. It's the kind of album that, had I been in a different mood, would probably have gotten a 5 star review from me. Objectively, it's a little too easy to ignore but it's easily a 4-star album.

I'm having a hard time coming up with much to say on this one. It wasn't bad. Groovy, nice diverse range of instruments and styles made sure it never felt boring. But it also wasn't really compelling. Like I could see myself digging it if played live. But I wouldn't probably only see them if they were an opening act. Still might pick up the merch tho. My hottest take is that this sounds like what would happen if Donalg Glover convinced Flight of the Concords to make a serious album, and helped produce it. Ultimately I question why it's on a list of 1001 most important albums of all time or w/e. It's just some indie rock. Highlights: The last part of Lover's Day Lowlight: Family Tree.

I legitimately don't know how I feel about this. One second, I really like it, the next, I hate it. Stop confusing me, music.

A little baffled by the glowing praise Dear Science received from press outlets at the time. It’s perfectly acceptable late-00s indie rock, nothing more and nothing less.

An album I respect but wouldn't choose to listen to often. The sonic landscape is rich and interesting, but I like more hooks in my music.

La situation est très simple: je ne présenterai plus une seule review construite tant qu'on n enous aura pas confirmé que la piste 3 de cet album est en fait la musique d'attente de l'URSSAF: robpenitencier est actuellement sur le coup, nous vous tiendrons au courant dès que possible.

Lot of things going on there, but at some point, it's so over referenced that there is no point to listening it...

I agree with Andy here.This album is too busy from start to finish. There’s too much going on during the opener and the closer. Is this indie, pop, or rock? It’s all of the above. Is it amazing, good, bad, or garbage? Again all of the above. Props to Dancing Choose for giving me Everything Everything vibes and for Golden Age for giving us a cool Phish cover. I thought Family Tree, Love Dog and DLZ were some of the better songs. All 11 songs had the potential to be something but couldn’t commit. I’m shocked this got as much praise as it did in 08.

I don’t get this band. I can see why people like them but they just aren’t for me. Not bad, just not enjoyable.

The songs on here had such potential. Was so close to being a sound, an experience, that I was looking for. But it just never made it to that level. Fun, but just not something I will be replaying. "Golden Age" was catchy and probably my favorite. All in all though the songs just melded together into sort of a nothingness.

Strange style, very much of the time

No

Das ist meist langweilig, stellenweise nervt es aber auch. Übermäßig bemüht, aber nicht gekonnt. Sind das schon 2 Sterne? Wenn man nach dem 10. von 11 Songs ausmacht und keinerlei Interesse hat, den Rest zu Ende zu hören - vermutlich nicht.

Couldn’t even finish it. Wasn’t for me

Wow, I really don't understand this one. It's a wild mix of styles, yet, the band is bad at every single one of those styles.

This just kind of sucks. Can't tell what kind of genre it's supposed to be. Bad singing all around. 3/10.

Reminds me of Prince, and also a little Red Hot Chili Peppers. Mostly the voice.

Bastante guay. Una mezcla de The National, con Bowie y un poco U2. Venga! un 5!

Accidentally exited out of the browser with all of my notes so I don't feel like typing them all out again. So here's a summarization: I have never listened to this band but have heard of them, and for some reason I thought they were an indie soft rock band that I would hate. Very pleasantly surprised because that album was awesome. The electronics, horns, strings, and harmonizing singing is all right up my listening wheelhouse. I will be listening to this album again at some point.

this was a great album, i did not know this group before but i loved their style, its consistently good and vibey. i saved some songs to my playlists

Never listened to these guys le do it. Wow I love these first two songs. Very different and that guitar work on Crying rules. Love that fuzzy bass in Dancing Choose. Some of the guitat work in Shout Me Out is great. DLZ is a pretty intense one I'm about it. These songs are all very unique and fresh sounding. Big fan. I'm at work so trying to pay attention as much as I can but damn I love it and will need to listen to more TV On The Radio.

Knew diddly about this and had no expectations either way. Now wondering how I missed such an excellent album. Not a single duff track and will definitely be listened to again and again.

I realized early that this album contains exactly the kind of anthemic rock that appeals to me. While I have some reservations about some of the instrumentation, the raw appeal can't be denied, and neither can the idiosyncrasy and blend of ideas. I may regret thinking I like TV On The Radio after just one album, but the entire project has the magnetism that certain singles do for me.

loved it

Wow! I loved This! Tito is correct I hear so many influences, Prince, Bowie, flight of the conchords, Tom Petty, Bloc Party of course and so many more. I have heard one song on this album before DLZ. I really can go hard with this, I give it a 4.5 but I’m rounding up because I want this to have a higher average haha.

Hell yeah. I know I listened to this when it was new, but I forgot how good it was. I wasn't quite as taken with it as Return to Cookie Mountain, but putting 15 years between listens, it is a very good album. 4.5/5

absolutely loving this

one of the greats

10/10 wicked cool prog rock meets alternative meets electronica — crazy good album

Absolutely love this album and this band.

Awesome

This was quite an unexpectedly good listen. It has nostalgic 80's vibes combined with distinct 2000's sound.

Wow, legit covers a lot of ground. Red Hot Chili Peppers meets Prince. Damn.

Gran Album, definitivamente lo escucharé de nuevo

Oh snap, an all time favorite!

Очень зашел альбом

So good I knew of TV on the Radio way back in 2009, when I had a subscription to Rolling Stone (at the age of 13 :/) And maybe a contrarian streak kicked in, but the more they raved about this band, the less interested I was in seeking them out As a result, I robbed myself of some funky, punky good times (especially because this would have been the album that Rolling Stone was raving about)-- until today :) Even the point where I thought the album was getting too long was during the 2nd bonus track, “Dogs of Light”, so… HL: “Crying”, “Gray Skies” (bonus track), "Stork & Owl", "Family Tree", "Lover's Day" December 12, 2023

I cannot believe I’ve never heard of this band. There is not a bad track here. I was affected by hearing this in much the same way that the Scissors Sisters (Tits, not TV on the radio) debut album affected me back in the day. I can hear S.S. in the use of falsetto voices & particularly on a couple of tracks - the very funky Crying & the intro to Shout Me Out. I love the 50’s pop intro to the opening track, Halfway Home, on which the falsettos are pure Beachboys. I love the techno/hip-hop approach in Dancing Choose. And there are at least 4 terrific ballads here. The diversity is so good. And I’ve only had a close look at a couple of song lyrics but Family Tree is definitely related to the Billie Holiday classic, Strange Fruit, & Lover’s Day features some of the raunchiest (but not crass) lyrics I’ve heard in a while. I loved hearing this.

Golden Age and DLZ are defining songs of my college experience.

Liked this a lot , : )

Would probably get a 4 without the nostalgia factor. Used to listen to this one a lot when I was younger, I think it has a great mix of different tracks and genres: fav tracks crying and love dog.

Tunde's vocals sound great on this record. Top production, performances, tunes.

Brilliant album, I've only heard one song from a later album by this band, but yeah. Unexpected and amazing discovery. So eclectic and interesting, love it! Will definitely be coming back to this one, Stand outs: Halfway Home, Crying, Stork & Owl, DLZ

I saw this band open for Nine Inch Nails years ago and really enjoyed them. I bought the album Return to Cookie Mountain, but it never resonated with me. I never went back to explore this band further. That said, I really enjoyed this album. Very inventive songwriting and instrumentation. I’m adding this to my normal rotation, and really need to give Cookie Mountain another chance. There wasn’t a song on it I disliked.

a pleasant surprise of an album. genuinely inventive alt-pop. even the remixes tacked onto the end of the version i listened to were good. my first 5-star album so far.

Funky Indie, that should be a genre right? And this album should have led the Funky Indie charge. Although most indie bands going funk are an absolute car crash so maybe not. TOTR are one of the most consistently brilliant bands of the last 20 years. All of their first three albums including this one are stone-cold classics.

TV on the Radio took what they learned from the experimentation on Return to Cookie Mountain and crafted a more straightforward set of songs that still contain the depth, ambition, and complexity (especially lyrically) that marked their previous effort. "Halfway Home" is a strong opener that sets the bar for the entire record - it never really dips below the quality laid out from the start. A thoroughly enjoyable listen and one of those albums that shows hidden bits and pieces on subsequent listens. What more could you ask for?

Perfect album!

fucking stellar in every way

You know what? I think this album deserves to be in this list!

🟦 90 🥇 DLZ 🥈 Lover's Day 🥉 Family Tree

I love this album, another one that I listened to a lot in college. It took me a while to get into it fully, but when it did it took hold! Especially love Dancing Choose, Golden Age, Family Tree and DLZ.

New to me, although a couple of tracks were familiar and I listened to it on repeat, so it can't be that bad

To my ears one of the best albums this century. Could be a Prince/Bowie collaboration at the height of their powers, and I don't say that lightly. I know every note and it's all fantastic

I hadn’t ever heard of tv on the radio before this but I loved this album. My fav song was actually a song of theirs that came on after the album ended on Spotify but overall I liked every song on the album especially crying and dlz

This was really something else. Kind of reminded me of LCD Soundsystem, with a disco vibe, and yet it was something uniquely its own. This will quickly be added to my rotation.

Loved it. Loved everything about it. Will listen to many songs on repeat. Very welcome entry. Already listened three times to determine whether it's a 4 or a 5.

Two great albums in a row! Every song is entertaining in its own way, those can be funky, uplifting, melancholic or just simply instrumental, they all have that energy, that is so compelling and contagious. Two singles, "Golden Age" and "Dancing Choose" don't really stand out, because the whole record is very even - and at a high level. The real highlight of the album is the song "TMZ". It hits all the right tones, both lyrics-wise and instrumental. Guitar work is really extraordinary on this album, maybe not overly complicated, but it fits the overall style perfectly. It's a great album, and I'm eager to listen to the whole discography of TV On Yhe Radio in the near future.

I dug this album. It's weird listening to mid 2000s music and hearing just how many influences they pulled from. Dancing Choose was the stand out track for me.

Have not listened to this for years forgot how much I enjoyed listening to them, will listen more :)

This was a major album for me during my college years. Listening to it again, it’s amazing mix of cacophony and subtle timbres. “Love Dog” is still one of my favorite songs, the mix of heavy drums and love-lorn cooing is a perfect combination.

New Favorite band/ record

I only really knew their single Wolf Like Me that I've heard from time to time but otherwise not too familiar with TV on the Radio. Some good Rock with energy, some psychadelic flavor and vocals at times, and just solid jams all around. I liked this, would definitely add to the playlist.

I really like this one and thought it was pretty groundbreaking when I first heard it, like another divot into the great fairway of life. Especially Red Dress, but especially Golden Age.

This album slaps! I like the differing genres in the music, making it hard to define in one umbrella. It also makes the album very enjoyable to listen to.

A great undisclosed gem.

I've heard TV On The Radio before but I never really got into an album. This has been one of the best musical experiences for me so far in the album generator thing. The tracks are very different but mostly full of vocal experimentation and up-tempo rythms.

This album has brilliant and moving lyrics that explore our values (or lack thereof). Family Tree is a tragic love song about a black / white relationship. The image of a black person (the black woman in this case?) hanging from a tree is a powerful depiction of society's character defects. Dylan used this image in the opening verse of Desolation Row. I also like the experiments with noise such as at the end of Shout Me Out and, to a lesser extent, Crying. The percussion is also very good and carries the melody in DLZ which is one of the best songs on the album.

Pretty good! Some parts reminded me of All berkrovitz band, and some others reminded me of more popular indie bands

really smart and evocative. these guys know how to put a record together.

Wow. Really enjoyed this album from start to finish. Variety, musicality and it even sounded like Prince singing a couple of times. I honestly had to check to make sure it wasn't. One of the better recommendations found via this 1001 albums list.

Nice one, a good find. Lots going on with horns, strings, ballads and dance tracks. Will defo listen again.

One of the greatest albums of the Noughties, genre-bending brilliance

I had a run of albums that I was (at best) lukewarm towards, so I'm relieved to get something new that I also love. I'm looking forward to returning to this one. I like the way it sounds, the instrumentation, the variety, the lyrics and the vocal performances--I guess everything about it. Highlights: Halfway Home, Crying, Family Tree, Shout Me Out, DLZ

groovy goodness.

One of the highlights of post-Funeral, major label 00s indie. Can tell a lot of money has been spent on this, but it's all worthwhile. A generous 5 but this was a special album for me.