Reviews (page 3 of 8)
It was ok, but not mind blowing. Liked the first track.
I had honestly forgotten how good this album is. It's hard to nail down, but it's really good. Favorite song: Shout Me Out
Nothing was quite in this pocket when it came out. It isn't a perfect album but it has some really bright spots and certainly is something I used to spin up and leave on while cleaning really often.
Un bon mélange, du rock léger, pop funk de 2 artistes de New York. J'avais déjà un peu écouté par le passé, mais rien sur cet album. Vraiment pas mauvais, mais pas trop d'effet wow.
I don’t get the hype here at all. This album refuses to be anything. Not experimental, not poppy, not lyrical, not beautiful, not weird, not anything. It’s just dull.
I didn’t warm to this. Never heard of this band before. The opening track was intriguing until the guy started to sing. After that, a combination of the guys singing and dull tracks didn’t sustain my interest.
I hadn't listened to this album in many years and I had forgotten how great it is. Not one throw-away track on it. It's brimming with hooks, interesting arrangements, synth and rhythm heavy songs, and jubilant horns. It's definitely my favorite album by them. Lyrically it's interesting as well and Adebimpe's vocals tie it all together. Hard to pick a favorite song on it but "DLZ" and "Family Tree" are standouts. Love how "Lover's Day" works as an album closer with its steadily building horn section and lyrics straight from a Barry White song. These guys were (are?) creative as hell and one of the best bands of that era.
These guys were one of the most novel indie bands of the 2000s. Super textured and thoughtful sound, draws on a broad range of influences. They have bangers on every album they did but this is their most cohesive. I love Halfway Home, Crying, Family Tree. The second half is a bit less memorable, with the exception of DLZ which brings me back to Breaking Bad - i love Tunde Adebimpe's vocals on that one. Adebimpe is still making good solo stuff but I wish the band would reunite
It's kinda good but a little too precious. Also Breaking Bad BatChest!!! Will I listen to again: 25%
Interesting listen, but couldn't grab me. The music was unorthodox and surprising in that indie kind of way, but I found very little to grab me. Not sure I'll go back to this.
This is not the indie I'm looking for. 2/5
not really for me
This is one of the great “indie rock” records of all time and up there with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Is This It, Yoshimi, and Illinois for best of the 00s. I think TVOTR is underrated despite the critical acclaim. Halfway Home is a brilliant opener that sets the tone and mood. Owl & Stork is sublime. Family Tree is beautiful. DLZ is a certified banger. A masterpiece best listened to while wondering the streets of Manhattan at night.
Maybe I’m just not in the right mood for this today.
These guys are writing to science? What a bunch of nerds.
Mutig, rhythmisch spannend und voller guter Ansätze, doch die Vielfalt schlägt manchmal in Unruhe um. Ein solides, aber ungleichmäßiges Werk.
Amazing! Phish covers golden age. I really like their sound
Great listen. Good vibes. Pop punk alternative
Average contemporary / indie alt rock. Not bad.
Still good
Meh.
I love TVOTR and am glad to see them on the list. Interesting songs played by excellent musicians, great live too. Check out Return to Cookie Mountain from them as well, it’s not on the list but is often considered their best.
mehhhh. only liked about 2 or 3 songs. everything else was a bit annoying. did not like the vocals. the instruemtnals and production were solid. but i dont think i'd go back and listen to this again. halfway home was my fave of the album. 3/10
I really like this. Excellent variety and depth to the styles they use. Indie - art rock done well.
Surprise like for me.
Fine enough for what it is, but I don’t really see it as being particularly cutting edge warranty particular attention. But it was a fun enough listen.
Pretty sweet honestly
Fairly good, but do not feel I'll listen to it again
This sounds like a 40 year old dad's version of what indie rock should sound like. And his voice is terrible.
I would put money on this being one of the albums which was cut from more recent editions. Was this so popular or influential that it needs to be in the list? It took me most of a day to listen to this as it's just so bloody boring. It's musical hipster 2000s indie rock wallpaper. It's not awful, but who sits down and listens to this?
It's fine and interesting, but I don't think this is one of the albums I NEEDED to hear before I die, you know?
Super interesting. I drags just a touch in the middle. Got into the lead singers solo stuff too.
This was good! I listened twice. Not quite what I expected, but I liked it.
Really enjoyed this!!
I like it! Idk if I’d listen to it again but it’s fun
Never heard them before, and I genuinely couldn't figure out what I was hearing at first, in a good way. Really interesting blend of genres and influences, but the songs didn't grab me.
I vaguely know TV On The Radio and have a couple of their songs saved on Spotify but I can't really say that I've spent any time listening to them. So this one is basically an unknown for me. I do remember a lot of people comparing them to Radiohead when they first came out. Maybe the Radiohead fans needed a new band? I don't really remember. Some cool vibes to start off. Nice and chill sort of ambient stuff. Then Dancing Choose starts and you've lost me here a bit. It goes back to the sort of airy ambient fluff afterwards. It just kind for carries on from there. I'm not sure this is really for me. It was ok but even thinking back after a couple of hours I can't remember any of the songs specifically, more just the overall feeling of the album. One and done for me. 2.5/5
That was really hard lol
Excellent! I must try again soon!
pretty boring
It's got a lot of elements I love (horns, funk with the rock groove) but just doesn't come together into something I love.
so mid
eh
Another album that simply is just not very good. So you read the Wiki page in hopes of understanding and it starts by saying how its sold a whooping 200k copies - I’m just speechless how this shit makes the list.
Rate this a one. Mediocre album
That was very hit and miss. I'd already heard another one of their albums via this site, but that was over a year ago and so I had no real preconceived ideas. The first track was just boring, so the bar was initially set quite low, then tracks 2 and 3 were really enjoyable, which perked me up a bit. Then it devolved into a sort of crappy Coldplay tribute band. Coldplay are pretty crappy themselves, so a crappy version of them is not an enjoyable experience. Anyway, I did listen to the whole album so it's not a 1 star experience - I can;t bring myself to give 3 stars though, so it's 2 stars - which does feel about right.
Rubbish
DLZ is a banger, the rest of the album aint
it was average 2 Stars light 4 out of ten
Quite good at some points actually, largely enjoyable. I enjoyed it on in the background. One of those bands which are genre adjacent to what I already listen to and like.
This falls somewhere between a strong 3 and a soft 4. I had no expectations going in but ended up enjoying it quite a bit.
another 2000s album. not sure what this is necessarily reminding me of, but it does feel reminiscent of 2000s music in some way
Extremely expressive piece of art. Whether it’s loud or quiet, there’s energy there. A force that inspires emotion within you. I love the ever-changing production, it helps create shades of these different emotions and provides nuance through change. Some tracks are a little too quirky for me with the falsetto focus and pulsating synths, but I like that there’s an off kilter element to the album. Even though tracks like Golden Age and Stork & Owl weren’t ones I loved, I found value in the ways that they tried to present something new. Faves: Halfway Home, Family Tree, Dancing Choose, Lover’s Day
First time hearing. Good stuff
I like this; there's only a couple songs I would listen to again, but I enjoyed it overall.
When to listen: To groove out while working or on a car ride. A few songs I liked more than others, like "Crying." But overall this was a great listen and I enjoyed it
Great band, great record.
I liked it! This was an interesting sound that I hadn't heard much of before.
Halfway Home 3/5 Crying 3/5 Dancing Choose 2/5 Stork & Owl 3/5 Golden Age 2/5 Family Tree 3/5 Red Dress 3/5 Love Dog 4/5 Shout Me Out 4/5 DLZ 4/5 Lover's Day 3/5 Overall Album 3.1
Their third album. Indie Rock. I don't know how I feel about this one either way. Was it captivating ? No. Was it awful ? No. The fifty minutes of the album came and went without me disliking it I suppose. I'd give it a 2.5 if I could, right down the middle. I'll round it up to a three for decent production.
Didn’t care for this much, and it’s late. Two stars.
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I had heard of TV On The Radio but had never heard any of their music. This is an intriguing album, hopping from funky to post-rock and Cure-like moods. Three stars may well turn out four when I get to know this better. And I intend to. This sort of discovery is why I wanted to do this in the first place.
I just don't get it me, it's not offensive to my sensibilities, but it doesn't speak to me
Like a discount rack at a dollar store version of Gorillaz
544/1001
I had heard of TV on the Radio but had never listened. I'm glad I finally have. But... while it's quite enjoyable, it's not four- or five-star material.
Really liked his voice and digging their sound, the list has made me a fan (3.5/5)
101 albums would have been enough
Not for me
4/10 I’ve heard of TV On The Radio before, but couldn’t tell you much about them really, so this should be interesting at least. There are a lot of elements here that are right in my wheelhouse, creative sound design and synth use, an edge of funk and a quirky little indie edge. Unfortunately, none of that really gelled particularly well for me or really grabbed hold of me and demanded my attention. One of the strangest things about it was that, despite them seeming to have spent quite a lot of energy working on building dense rhythmical ideas, these were limited to fairly short loops that then repeated fairly relentlessly. It also felt very robotic, with everything feeling almost too tight and lacking a human edge to it that would bring out the heart of the groove. And that extended to a lot of the instrumental parts too. I don’t know how much of it was live instrumentation and how much was samples, but much of the instrumentation felt like it had had a lot of its soul quantised and compressed out of it in the production process. When this sat in the background, out of my main focus, I grooved along to it nicely enough, but every time I tried to focus on it, I found there was little to hold on to and beyond that, there were bits that were actively annoying. I don’t think the lead vocalist is particularly good and he has a fairly affected style that only really worked for me during certain songs. As a background listen this was decent enough, but there are plenty of bands that lean in this direction that I would much prefer to listen to, and unfortunately there was nothing memorable enough to really settle this is an album worthy of continued repeat listening. Halfway Home - An interesting droning into that feels like it’s building up to something. It’s quite a nice tension builder, but it never really develops into anything vastly satisfying, and also feels overly long for an album intro track. I quite like the sound design and atmosphere that’s built, but it’s not particularly harmonically interesting. Crying - A nice bit of rhythmic programming to start this off, and it’s already got a bit more to it than the opener. The funky guitar is pretty tasty, but lacks variation to give it more feel. I quite like this, and the shuffling groove is pretty good, but it all feels a little bit too robotic, lacking the fluidity of something a little more human. It’s also a little on the repetitive side and never really finds its way to anything vastly memorable. Dancing Choose - There’s a little more attitude thrown in to the vocal here in places. There’s also a little more variation to the emphasis from verse to chorus, which is nice, but it starts feeling a bit too hurried after a while and things get a bit loose and cluttered. It all feels a little bit relentless and like it’s struggling to keep up with itself. Stork & Owl - This is a little plodding and melodically unfocused. I think the lead vocal here is pretty weak and the strings feel very static and robotically programmed, rather than warm and organic. It also doesn’t really go anywhere. The layering of everything is theoretically nice, but doesn’t feel all that well executed to me. Golden Age - This starts out pretty promisingly, but again, I feel the programming of a lot of the parts is very, very static and because of that it feels like it takes a long time to get anywhere. When things do come in, it builds quite nicely. The general groove is pretty good, but the lead vocal largely seems very thin and fairly unconvincing. This is in that weird space where it’s getting me shuffling along to it, but there’s no really standout element of it to me, and I expect I won’t really remember much about it by the time the next track comes on. Family Tree - This kind of sounds a bit like Coldplay if they were a more interesting band. The string arrangements are pretty nice and they do some decent work of building things up, but it all feels a little bit obvious and the piano and vocal line running along the exact same melody doesn’t hep to add depth to the composition. I can hear little touches of inspiration from Sigur Rós in there, but it’s way less lush and emotionally centred than them. It’s nice but fairly bland. Red Dress - This is better. It’s got a great skittering rhythm and plenty of different instrumental parts that extend and enhance that rhythm. I’m still not convinced by the vocalist. It feels like he’s doing a bit with his vocal delivery, or is so unconvinced by his vocal ability that he has to ‘sing’ in a half-spoken, very plosive way. It works better here than it has on other tracks and I’m getting into the groove of this one a lot more. There’s some solid layering on there, but it’s got such a weak keyboard solo to end it that it just limps away. Love Dog - We get another interesting, shuffling rhythm that after a couple of loops starts to feel altogether too static. It’s weird, because it does quite a lot in that loop, but perhaps that’s why it sounds so repetitive. This builds quite nicely in ambience. It’s another where the component parts tick a lot of boxes for me, but ultimately the execution, while making me tap my toes along to the groove, doesn’t really produce much of an emotional or engaged response. It feels a bit stylistically mixed between the shuffling, skittish drums and the long, legato wash of strings and it doesn’t really gel all that well for me. Shout Me Out - A slow shuffle gets us moving here, but it takes too long to develop. I keep getting distracted by other things while trying to review this because nothing is really getting hold of me. When it finally gets a shift on and does something, it doubles time, but it’s really not convincing. The guitar parts in these sections are repetitive and jarring. And then they drift off into an aimless guitar widdle that does nothing aside from aimlessly meander. DLZ - Ah, this is a solid, atmospheric start. This vibe works better with the vocal and he gives it a bit more swagger in his delivery. This is definitely my favourite on the album. It’s really nicely produced and creates a deep and interesting vibe. It also manages to create some good hooks, build some nice dynamic range and maintains the best of their skittering beats. I think this just managed to hook up the best bits of what they were trying to do elsewhere and brought them together in a coherent and satisfying way. Lover's Day - This is oddly militaristic in sound. It feels like they’re trying to build something, but despite that rolling beat, it never really goes anywhere. Overall it feels pretty unconvincing, a little to rhythmically repetitive and lacking in any significant musical phrases to grab on to. Ultimately, it’s just a bit boring.
DANCING CHOOSE is such a cool song. The little guitar fills mesh with the horns so groovily. STORK & OWL and RED DRESS, especially were a class in merrymaking music. Really leaned into their composition style and enjoyed muchly.
Never been impressed with TV On The Radio is this experience was no different
felt very 2000s indie. it was fine but nothing really spoke to me
Jeg kan faktisk ret godt lide det. Det er ret varieret, men klart bedst når stemningen er dyster som i DLZ, men Family Tree kan også noget særligt. Jeg kommer tilbage til albummet senere, men lige nu mangler den, det dér helt særlige som en 5er kan.
Hvis 00er indien var en Zoologisk Have ville der være fantastiske rovdyr som den hvidstribede løve, de pragtfulde påfugle der skriger Yeah igen og igen. Selvfølgelig vil der også være den frække los i for form af The Strokes og den bamsede sorte tangent-bjørn. Og man må ikke overse de charmerende artiske aber. TV On The Radio vil være geden med hareskår i petting zoo’en. Harmløs og kedelig.
This was pretty good. When I read the words “indie rock” I shuddered a little, but there is far more substance and integrity to their music than describing them like that. One of the best things about this internet age is that we can listen for ourselves, and not be subjected to buzz words - and music journalism in general - which I’m grateful for. Good riddance. Anyway, for the fist time hearing TV On The Radio I enjoyed it. Vibrant and layered, interesting music. A worthy 3.
#259/1001. This was a band I haven't heard before. At least I don't think so. Their sound was interesting combination of funk, rock, pop and synth, somehow reminding me of the aesthetics of Prince or m.j, although the end result and the songs are totally different. I was thinking of also bedroom aesthetics - you know, making music at night using modern computer production tools, but it seems it is a flesh and blood band who all contribute(?). After listening and now writing about it a few days later it is hard to recall any of it though. So might need a few more listens, perhaps it will grow, but probably not as a favoutite. So file under worth checking out later.
I had never heard of this band before, but I was pleasantly surprised listening to it. Interesting and unique, kinda reminded me of Prince.
It’s not really my thing but I can hear that it’s quality
Super meh - dont understand why this is on the list
This is ok - TVOTR never really stood out to me for whatever reason.
This band's singer reminds me a lot of Bon Iver's Justin Vernon with his inflection. The music itself is pretty funky, so this is basically like Scissor Sisters and Bon Iver making an album together. I love both of those bands and they apparently come together pretty well. It's kind of hard for me to talk about this album without mentioning a litany of other bands because this really does sound like a bunch of influences coming together into something interesting. It doesn't entirely sound like any of its influences, though. It's definitely a unique thing, and a pretty good one.
Always really liked Adebimpe's voice. TV on the Radio is probably the 2000s hipster band to beat in terms of how tethered to the era they are - even more than The Dirty Projectors. The Strokes transcend it a little but TV on the Radio is handcuffed to Daily Show appearances and prestige tv needle drops. There are worse claims to fame but I always wondered where they went. Favorite Tracks: Dancing Choose, Family Shoes, Red Dress, DLZ
I've listen to this band before but never listened to a whole album. It kind of felt like an American version of Bloc Party to me from what i heard prior. But when i started listening they had a very interesting and unique sound. DLZ is the track I heard before and is a really cool track and still hits hard. The fact that 98 000 people have listened to the 4min of silence on the bonus edition really really blows my mind... my entire music catalogue doesn't reach that high... is my music less listenable than silence...
I only know "Wolf Like Me", but I do love that song. Excited to dive in. churning drums, and falsetto I expected, but used to build a far different experience I anticipated. I liked this album, but not sure I would ever put it on. It's interesting, and not like much I'm aware of from 2008.
First song sounds like bird bird bird bird is the word, idk kinda generic
This is like if They Might Be Giants were Rainbow Kitten Surprise
Pretty solid album. Stands out to me for some reason, but can't tell you why. One popular song that I apparently already knew but never knew it was from this artist or this album (to be fair, I had never heard of both the artist and album beefore though). 8 / 10
not bad when i was listening, but looking back i cant remember anything about this album. clearly not very memorable
Never heard of them before but loved it
When I saw this pop up I groaned; the last TV On The Radio album I had was dreadful. This is so much better.
Wow this is a great album full of different styles and excellent musicianship.
Good
Die haben bisher echt nicht stattgefunden in meinem Leben. Definitiv eine Bereicherung. Das Album klingt, wie ich mir eine Kollabo der Dirty Projectors mit Hot Chip vorstelle. Kreativ und gut.
Tolles Album, gefällt mir noch einmal eine ganze Ecke besser als das Debüt. "Return To Cookie Mountain" kommt ja bestimmt auch noch, die sehe ich dazwischen.
Again, although I like it well enough, I don't really fully connect with TVOTR. I liked the second half of the album more than the first, with particular call outs for "Shout Me Out" and "DLZ"
This is good. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Reminds me of Bloc Party which is no bad thing. A bit busy at times and some weaker tracks but overall an enjoyable listen. And that Breaking Bad scene is iconic. I’ll be revisiting this one
its alright
Perfect album when you're 22 and there's a global financial crisis and you have no idea what you're gonna do with your life. Favorite tracks: Halfway Home, Golden Age, Red Dress, DLZ
Funky! Not bad but the vocals weren't my favorite. Instrumentals were super cool.
Wasn't really my thing. Had some neat sounds and I liked Red Dress, but this pretty quickly just became background music for me. Wasn't bad, but probably won't be revisiting this one. 5/10, was originally leaning towards 3 stars but honestly I’m going with 2. This kind of indie electronica stuff has the occasional neat sound but I just don’t really care for it.
Huh. I thought I had a pretty good handle on TV on the Radio and knew what their whole deal was. I had them pegged in the a-bit-more-abrasive-than-and-not-as-good-as-the-yeah-yeah-yeahs zone. But this was a really solid and enjoyable album with some very decent songs on it. I am glad to have been proven wrong as to this band.
Tiene buenas canciones, pero creo que podrías morir sin escuchar este disco. 3
Polished, densely layered grooves built from glossy synths, punchy bass lines, processed guitars, and emphatic vocals folded into the mix move this art-rock album like standing in a brightly lit showroom playing "motivational" music—slick and busy, but ultimately generic, faintly annoying, and exhausting rather than energizing.
Great album, good amount of range
Not the worst listen, but nothing stood out especially. Singing was not my favourite but music itself was not that bad
Ok
Just some of the most mid music you’ll ever hear. It’s not amazing but it’s not terrible, it just is.
Literally the first 0.5 seconds of this made me tense up. Stereotypical mix of stereotypical late-oughts arrangements and vibes. I dare this list to give me something from this time period that doesn't sound like most everything else that came from this time period. Suivant/next.
Wow I really loved this. Chill and funky but powerful, and strong vocals. A fun new discovery!
unterschiedliche sounds, manche songs ganz cool, aber irgendwie nicht komplett meins?
Bit boring and unmemorable. A shame, cos their other album on here was decent.I won't return to this.
A great album. This band released a run of very good albums in the noughties. I haven’t listened to this in quite a while and feel it has held up well. I particularly enjoy how the two vocalists work to their strengths. 4 stars. Fave track - stork and owl.
On the fence a little on this one. A strong first couple of tracks, a bit of a lull in the middle with a strong finish. DLZ stood out with the vocals rhythmic and just adding so much to track.
I was not previously familiar with the artist or the album. I would say this is lush indie rock. There's a lot going on here. I feel like it's not particularly accessible. I did not really enjoy this, and I doubt I would come back to it.
Came and went pretty unnoticed
Never understood why everyone thought these guys were hot shit.
This was a wild find, and I dug it. Had a mix of a very solid alt 1980's sound with some mid 90s tossed in. I dug it.
Really like it, it kind of flows over me
Noise.
They bring some lovely, infectious energy...and then they bore me.
First few tracks did not do anything for me. But some of it grew on me and I ended up saving tracks 4 and 6 to my general playlist. Kind of an interesting fusion of sounds and styles.
I tried twice, but I couldn't find anything interesting about this album.
Not a fan of the vocals at all - kinda Prince-like but just... not good. Overall the music otherwise is fairly decent. Kinda funky, like the mix of electronic sounds and real instruments. Really mixed feelings overall, there weren't many songs that I liked every aspect of, but I also didn't hate any songs all the way through. I could happily have this album on as background in future but I don't think I'm sold on TV On The Radio based off this listen.
Another solid album from TVOTR. It's not as experimental as their debut album which we got earlier in this challenge, settling more into an arty funky indie sound than the jazzy touches, ripping basslines, and strange doo-wop experiments from their debut, but that's not a bad thing - they settle well into this sound and inhabit it to its fullest. The obvious highlight is DLZ, and not just for its appearance in Breaking Bad; it's also just a damn fine song.
I just don’t think this was very good, sorry.
Run-of-the-mill indie rock, I'm not really a fan but it's pleasant enough, they experiment with a large instrumental variety which is pretty cool. I thought it sounded like a chiller, early Gorillaz at some points. I enjoyed the more animated moments such as Red Dress, where you can actually see the funky Prince influence. Overall though I just don't think there's much calling to me for future listens. I'm certain that there were more influential records than this in 2008! Standouts: Halfway Home • Crying • Family Tree • Red Dress
I really wanted to like this more, but it strikes me less as an album and more like a random collection of mildly related songs, none of which really struck me.
+ zdziwiłam się, że indie tak mi siądzie + zajebiste beaty / rytmika + super wokale / melodyka / frazy + momentami coldplay, Childish Gambino - momentami monotonne - zbyt jednolite
Some songs start interesting but putter out. STAY OUT OF MY TERRITORY. Overall this just kinda pisses me off
Very standard 2000s indie rock, nothing very memorable for me.
I loved their early albums. At first I wasn’t thrilled on this one but it grew on me.
Took a couple tracks to really get into the album, but it's reap good. At it's best when it's more energetic. Track order is really well though out and the whole thing flows great and gets stronger as it goes on. I wish I had been more aware of it on high school.
In terms of lyricism, I thought it was pretty good, and therefore I understand why it's on this list. However, “Family Tree” was the only song that stuck with me.
I really enjoyed this
Loved the other albums of them, but this was just alright. Didn't have a bad time listening, but it's really nothing to write home about.
This band has one great EP and one great album and this one is neither of those, so it was a nice throwback to the days when I wore skinny jeans but clearly a lesser work
Enjoyed this when it came out and it was a nice throwback. Favorite songs: Halfway Home, Crying, DLZ
Enjoyed it
2+ Stars (6/15)
Lost interest but liked Family Tree.
It's not their fault that David Bowie did not make a cameo appearance at their show in Prospect Park 20 years ago as I convinced myself he would despite the absence of any evidence to substantiate my fantasy, and I need to stop blaming them for it. This album is far more interesting than I expected, in part because my previous exposure to them was a free show in a park, where they came off as indecipherable and monochromatic and not particularly revelatory or even unusual. Shouting and no dynamics or variety. And not David Bowie. Either they grew a lot in the two years between that show and this album or it just wasn't a good introduction to them. Finally, a singer with a point of view and music with some uniqueness and variety to it! 250 points to Hufflepuff just for being creative people. Feels like something that may reward repeat listening, but is it compelling enough for me to remember to do so? Not sure yet but I sincerely appreciate and respect their interest in doing their own thing and strong execution of a deliberate creative vision. Thank you, TVOTR!
I'm really glad to have heard TV on the Radio's debut album in the collection before this one, as the contrast between the two albums is both striking and elevates "Dear Science" even more than it would have otherwise. (Although since I own this album, it was already elevated in my mind.) It's always nice to get a thoroughly solid album from start to finish, and while some of the tracks are a bit forgettable, I particularly enjoyed "Crying", "Dancing choose", "Golden hour" (mainly for the quirky video), "Family tree", "Shout me out" and "DLZ". And I loved finding out that the album title was drawn from a note in the recording studio, "Dear Science, please start solving problems and curing diseases or shut the fuck up." Admittedly, that reads a little less humorous in 2025 than in 2008 (thanks, anti-vaxxers, climate deniers, and Xian nationalists), but still a pretty funny inspiration for a title.
New to me and I really liked the layered, lush sound, especially in the first song. They bring all the instruments to the table and they seem to really know what they're doing. Not the catchiest tunes, but respect.
Mukavaa rytmikästä meininkiä. Koneääniähän nämä suureksi osaksi tuntuu olevan, syntikkaa ja sellaista. Kelvollista kuitenkin.
better than the last one, voice is a bit strange at times
Dear basketball
Albums I listened to yesterday that were better than this… Widow City by The Fiery Furnaces, the OBC recording of Company, and It’s Martini Time by Rev. Horton Heat. Put them on this list.
Yeah😂😭
Wtf 1/1
Never really got into this band, but couple of songs here are part of my 20s and my wife loves this band. The album has this energy I love, should put it more.
…I dunno. Is there something about this one I don’t get? I really want to love this band but most of the time they’re good but that’s about it. Enjoyable but forgettable I s’pose
I had never heard this album. Sonically, it's pretty good. The compositions are rather catchy, and I think the vocals are unique. Unfortunately, my interest stops there. I don't know anything about this band's other work, but this album feels creatively limited to me. The music is very straightforward electronic (indie?) pop, but that's it. Other than the vocals, there is nothing weird or challenging about the music. It sounded good, but I got bored with it pretty early on. Three stars.
Starts off okay but quickly becomes redundant. With the exception of "Dancing Choose" there wasn't much that the music sounded different than the rest and all the lyrics are nonsensical ramblings. It just feels like a theater kids trying to be cool and failing miserably
Only had time for one listen. I liked it and will be back for more
Someone would like this if they like LCD Soundsystem
This is not my favorite TVOTR album but it is still quite enjoyable. Starts out very strong but Peter’s out in the second half as it becomes less dancey.
One of those bands that I respect, and like, but don't love. This doesn't seem as inventive as Desperate Youth and I can't tell if it's better or worse for it. A head above your standard late 2000s indie stuff, but that doesn't really make it great.
Het album begon heel sterk, maar zwakte daarna meteen weer af. Die nasale stem in combinatie met al die herhaling valt nogal snel uit de toon. de instrumentatie vind ik best wel interessant maar het is niet bijzonder ofzo. Favoriet: Halfway Home, shout me out, lover's day Minst favoriet: Crying, Dancing Choose, Red dress 2/5
Мені не дуже сподобалось не дослухала навіть
This didn’t grab me. Good background music though. I didn’t dislike it but when I actively listened it didn’t work for me.
A 3
Nope. Still terrible
Like the last TVOTR album, the start of the album gave me hope, but it quickly degenerated into boring swill. I don't need to hear any more TVOTR albums before I die.
# Album Name: TV on the radio # Artist: Dear Science # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: One decent song. Rest were meh # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? No
A couple of good songs, but the rest irritated me. I'm not sure if it was the dissonance or style of singing, but it felt like a bad OK Go album. Halfway Home ★★★★☆ Crying ★★★☆☆ Dancing Choose ★★☆☆☆ Stork & Owl ★★☆☆☆ Golden Age ★★☆☆☆ Family Tree ★★★★☆ Red Dress ★★☆☆☆ Love Dog ★★☆☆☆ Shout Me Out ★★☆☆☆ DLZ ★★☆☆☆ Lover’s Day ★★☆☆☆ Average Album Rating: 2.5/5.0 ★★☆☆☆
Wow, iPod/MP3 nostalgia.
Not for me.
This was fine, I don't know didn't really do it for me, feel like there are a lot of other bands that have a better sound than this but in the same lane
I haven't heard of them before so this was fun to explore. It makes good background music but very little stood out. I'm curious what it is that drives their inclusion on this list. Fav Tracks: DLZ > Lover's Day > Family Tree Current Fav Album: Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd (#11/1089)
Indie rock with a little funk thrown in. That funk helps it rise above the level of bog standard. Unfortunately it doesn't show up in every song. Favorite track: DLZ
Sufficiently enjoyable, different and interesting to creep into the 4 mark.
An obvious 3.
Heisenberg
Ok. ★★
Indie!
This was actually good and listenable. I know I’m shocked too.
I've been meaning to listen to these guys for a long time. Definitely like it and want to hear more from them.
I made my lunch today and forgot to put salt on all the food. Even so, it tasted better than this album. A real Chayote Popsicle.
Don't think I could tell you a single thing about any of the songs on here. There was some sonically interesting production choices I guess (I like the drums on Shout Me Out) and the occasional good line but most of it felt like boring indie rock with an equally uninteresting vocalist. Last 2 tracks probably bumped it up to a low 3
Highlights Family Tree Red Dress Love Dog DLZ I got excited seeing experimental rock in this artists genres but it turns out this was their less experimental album. Feel like it could have been so much more. It did grow on me towards the end, the singer can have quite a big voice and the songs that lean into that with big instrumentation are really good. 3
Always loved this album, just gets better with age. Highlights: "Stork and Owl" and "Love Dog"
I’d been meaning to give TV on the Radio a proper listen for years, and I’m so glad I finally did. Dear Science is a fantastic album—full of energy, invention, and genuinely brilliant tunes. There’s so much going on here: layers of sound, huge variety, and constant shifts in mood and texture that make it a really exciting listen. The album opens strongly with three excellent tracks. Halfway Home immediately grabbed me; I couldn’t shake how much the intro reminded me of The Velvet Underground’s All Tomorrow’s Parties, before it swelled into something completely its own. That’s one of the album’s real strengths—these songs build so well, evolving as they go and keeping you hooked. By the time you reach Crying, it’s a perfect, powerful way to close things out. I loved this album, and I’ll definitely be returning to it. Favourite track: Crying and Halfway Home—though honestly, I could have picked several more. Least favourite track: None. Everything landed. Album artwork: Simple but effective.
Very smooth, very nice. It was an enjoyable listen throughout. I wouldn't say it pushed too many boundaries, but I was happy listening to it. And that's important.
I stopped after return to cookie mountain and should not have
“Return to Cookie Mountain” hooked me hard, but all of ‘em are great records. Happy to see they’re performing again.
I love DLZ, and some of the others are fine but too many funky bad ones.
Bet Crying made my Wrapped this year. I love absolutely everything about these dudes, starting with their sound. They're soooooo cool.
Never really listened to this when it came out and wish I had. It feels a little of its time, but still something interesting, layered, and a record to return to.
Nostalgia for this sound and time period are affecting my vote.
I definitely prefer their two earlier, nosier albums, but this one has a lot of staying power. A 3.5 that I’m rounding up bc of band loyalty.
Mellow yet interesting. I’d listen again without complaining but it’s not a special album.
The strings on this album are great. The songs are hit and miss with me, I don’t love the vocals unless they’re in that fun punk kind of way. The back half of the album was better, maybe that’s because I got used to the sound and it grew on me? I’ll have to try again with this one.
Decent listen, difficult one to rate but its probably 3.5 rounded down to a 3
I liked this a lot but it did like all these albums start to dwindle towards the end. Family Tree was great, surprised it’s not more popular in the YouTube montage world. 3.5 rounded down
A little unique, but nothing stood out.
first three songs would all be skips for me and already make me regret this. lyrics are not hitting for me the backing doesn't sound like anything special and I have nothing positive to say about the instrumentation. I did not enjoy this album.,
Not a big TVotR fan, but I did find many of the arrangements on here to be very interesting. Some of these songs are quite good, but also a handful of clunkers.
TV on the Radio remain sorely overlooked, as far as mid-00's indie acts go. This album is their best one, and is where they truly reached the apex of their psychedelic-infused art rock stylings. Plenty to love here, with detailed productions that rewards repeated listens and a wide variety of styles from song to song. From bouncy number like opener "Halfway Home" to the dark "DLZ" or the piano ballad "Family Tree". I'm suprised this actually made the list, and even more surprised this is the second. Key tracks: Halfway Home Dancing Choose Stork & Owl Family Tree Shout Me Out DLZ
I once heard this described as "the best rock album of the 21st century so far." And don't get me wrong, I like this album, there's definitely nothing wrong with it, but I just don't think that it's anywhere near unique or daring enough for a title that big.
I have a feeling this one had some depth to it and probably needs more than one listen to enjoy it fully.
What the fuck is this shit. I definitely didn't need to hear this before I die.
It’s 2008 and hipsters are annoying folks wherever they go, from the way they dress to the music they listen to. Normies like me who have never done anything annoying look with disdain at everything hipsters do. Thus, an indie band like TV On the Radio falls into the category of “fucking hipster music.” But time goes on, and there are far larger problems in the world aside from rich kids pretending to be poor, and this is pretty fucking great.
64/100. It has moments of brilliance, but as a full project, I think their strongest work exists elsewhere in their discography. A decent listen, but not their peak.
I listened to this one yesterday and slept overnight before doing this review. I remember absolutely nothing about this album besides that it wasn’t actively terrible.
that was quite something and not in the way I expected
No me convenció. Muy lineal
We have gorillaz at home Gorillaz at home:
There’s a lot of cool stuff here, but the way it’s all put together makes it sort of indescribable. It’s alright.
Dynamic, good music
Beautiful album.
Back half absolutely makes up for the unremarkable front half
No idea how this made it onto the 1001 list. Biting, generic and outdated 00’s indie.
This is a fun album. The only way I can describe it is "Nine Inch Nails" but fun and happy. The band uses loops - lots of loops! But, they are always tasteful, interesting, and used in service to the music, never in place of it. The loops add degrees of texure where needed to best effect. While this music is largely electronic and "locked to the grid" it still manages to stay funky. Best examples are "Golden Age," "Red Dress," and my favorite "Crying." Real guitars and organic instruments mix it up with the synths. The album features a variety of styles: Dance ("Dancing Choose"), Ballads ("Family Tree"), and even a Pop Anthem ("Lover's Day"). A good listen.
Listening to this, I was thinking about why I've never really listened to their music. I think it's the name. The band name is stupid. But that's a bad reason to not give something a chance, so I listened. There's a couple tracks on here that I love, but I don't get the hype. This was apparently album of the year among pitchfork readers back in the heyday of when pitchfork mattered. And this does exist in a pitchfork sweetspot, somewhere at the intersection of arty and pop, but I don't think it does either really well. Is it kind of interesting? Yes. Is it a little pop-y in a good way? Absolutely. But there's nothing truly experimental here, and as pop it hasn't aged especially well. It's possible this would grow on me with more listning, but othe of the gate, nearly twenty years after release, meh.
I have fond memories of this record, in the epicentre of the indie rock revolution. It felt part of a movement, and I felt a part of it too. Eclectic as it it is, it's consistent with New York's tradition of audacious iconoclasts; it makes me think of Battles, or recently, Geese. Warm though my memories are, I'm not certain that it holds together all that well. Zagging, instead of zigging, wears out its welcome. Listening to it feels like I'm allowing for the strangeness of these songs out of responsibility, because I like strange things because art. But this record runs the risk of trying too hard, I think. Halfway Home is a dramatic bit of post-industrial; I was excited to hear it again. Family Tree is boring as shit and I never liked it. Side B tries a little less hard and fares better for it. Love Dog has a good shouty hook and succeeds as being restrained. Similarly Shouted Out. Most of the following tracks. That part is a more linear, maximalist, New York record. But admittedly also more forgettable. Being weird is fine when it comes together. I'm tempted be cynical and say they definitely hit that on their first record, and chased that ever since. But I guess that's what a New York hipster would have said in the late aughts.
Actually not too bad when they’re not trying to seek medical attention by making music. Family tree, red dress all good melodies. They can make some good music with some polishing. Also reminds me of Brian Eno which I liked and didn’t like for the same reason.
i didn't super enjoy this one. i think a few of the later songs like Red Dress and DLZ were aight on their own, but as a whole album this didn't give me a ton of enjoyment.
Eh, it’s alright. I was grooving to a couple songs but some were just a little too outside the box for me. I can see the appeal for some background music though.
I did not like this guy's voice. Pretty disappointed with this album.
This album is really bland and uninteresting. It has some nice arrangements, but there is nothing that really blows my mind, and the songs are not good at all. Some are nice, but others are simply insipid. So, well, it's not that bad to get one star, but it's not a good album. I would never highlight it.
5.5/10
This is a solid album from a band I'd never heard of. Definitely a cool sound and aggregation of different influences going into this one. Enjoyable for sure.
Pretty good. Golden Age really caught me off guard. Had no idea it wasn’t a Phish tune.
One of the more bearable of the entries on this list, and my favorite of their albums. If you were going to include anything from this band, I think this is definitely the one. Personally I would remove their debut album DESPERATE YOUTHS, BLOODTHIRSTY BABES from the list. They absolutely nail their influences in these songs. Perhaps a bit too much on the nose for some, but personally I do think this was one of the better albums from the naughties. You can hear the David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Brian Eno, and Talking Heads influences. Faves: "Golden Age" and "DLZ" I saw them live when they toured with Nine Inch Nails and if you thought their live performances might sound a bit more meaty and gritty then you would be mistaken. They sound almost exactly like what they do on the album. I was also puzzled by the number of people who think that Phish wrote "Golden Age". It is actually the other way around. Phish covered TV on the Radio's "Golden Age".
Pretty good stuff
I thought these songs were MGMT but other than that it was ok.
TV on the Radio always sound like they’re creating inside their own private workshop: not a cramped box, but a vast room full of gears, horns, synths, choirs, and electricity. Their records tend to blur together in the best way: a continuum of controlled chaos, orchestral heft, and anxious groove. Dear Science sits near the top of that arc. It’s a record where every experiment lands - big, brass-laden arrangements, rhythmic twitchiness, and melodies that are both dense and memorable. Even if the albums blend in memory, the feeling never does: they’re consistently brilliant, and this one is them firing cleanly on all cylinders.
Arcade Fire for Hamilton fans? is this anything? i dont know
helt ok.
4 minutes of non-musical silence is so nuts
I enjoy TV on the Radio's sound, but the album was repetitive after about half way through.
I had heard two songs from this album before (DLZ and Love Dog) and enjoyed them, so I was happy to get this album and hear more from the band. Unfortunately, the rest of the album didn’t really click with me; it feels like it’s missing something to elevate it to being “good.” It’s not bad, and there are things to like, but it feels disappointingly underdeveloped. It was fine.
Such a great album, vocals that get in your head!
Some of the songs were very nice to listen to, however in my personal opinion, the overall album has missed potential, and lacked a few aspects.
Sounds like the late 00’s
Pretty same same wasn't it
I was really into Cookie Mountain but had already tuned out by this one. Morning stand out here to my 2025 ears.
Bad surprise with this one. The first two songs seemed decent. Nothing amazing but at least worthwhile. Then it keeps going sadly. I truely hate the vocals. I dont know what it is but it rubs me the wrong way bad. And if thats not bad enough I dont even like the music backing him up. It feels so robotic in a bad way. Loops shouldn't feel this bad. I dont know if I really care for them all that much but maybe I just hate them too. Im not sure but I hate it here at the very least. And if I dont like the music or the singing I dont know what else is left for me? Nothing really. Its not completely offensive but I was very happy when the 50 minutes was up. Like I said those 2 first songs were at least semi enjoyable. Just a record shouldn't skydive into bad town the rest of the way.
Cool solid album. Nothing I’m getting into all the time but appreciate it for what it is, got a few songs I really enjoyed. 3 stars
You know, I don’t think I’ve ever really heard of these guys before. They sounded vaguely familiar, but I can’t say I heard anything from them. And if I’m being honest, it sucks it took this long. Indie tends to be hit or miss to me. It’s either too slow or too soft or too esoteric. TV on the Radio here has found a way to make it fun. It’s hard to describe the sound. It stands between rock and funk and traditional indie. It just makes for a nice varied experience that makes for a thoroughly good time. What a surprisingly great album. Favorite track: Family Tree Other hits: Halfway Home, Crying, Shout Me Out, DLZ, Dancing Choose, Lover’s Day
laut.de review het gseit "panoramablick über alle genres" NAI. das isch seichte indiepop vlt rock us new york ide 2000er. find so züg nööd spannend. glaub mega viel musigreviewer:inne liebed so scheiss. de song golden age zb fang ah als chönted mega funky sii ich los jetz mol. desch no cool gsi. aber naja. etz nöd suuper cool. find etz würkli nüt guet bis etz. nervigi stimm. es will immer nochli meh mache alses brucht. chli pretentious. gad huere froh bini bim letste song. würkli nöööööd miis. aso mengmol ischs au schön aber finds musikalisch zu wenig fokussiert. ha das 2000er Indie züg nöd geeern.
de luca wird sich freue! und s albumcover isch e ABOMINATION halfway home isch easy I guess? poaah easy nervig hahaha so quirkyyyy family tree sött glaub e herzigi ballade sii aber chan nöd vill demit ahfange oke hans nomal glost und ich glaub ich cheggs scho, d striicher sind na schön aber es isch scho sehr es warte bis s album fertig isch de schluss vo shout me out findi jz actually no cool! DLZ KINDA POB?? WTF direkt us boppelse (wie bin ich nie vorher druff cho?) OMG ENDLICH FERTIG
110/1089 Halfway Home is a great opening track 3 songs in and each sounds unique and with a well crafted perspective. some parts of Dancing Choose remind me of Sufjan Stevens, interspersed with rappy elements which i love some bowie-esque vocalisations on one song I had a great time listening to this project, it’s a well-structured and realised indie rock album and really scratches the right parts of my brain a definite 5 stars from me faves: Halfway Home, Dancing Choose, Lover’s Day, Love Dog, Family Tree 87/100
Mostly enjoyed the songs I already knew.
Really liked this one. Felt like a nice variety. I liked the vocal style and I’m a big fan of brass and strings. Fav song: Red Dress Least fav: Lover’s Day
Mate what do you think science has been trying to do you prick. Average 2000s music I guess. Nothing to write home about. Specific rating - 3.2 Fav song -DLZ Least fav- stork and owl
Sometimes has a bit of Elbow feel to it (which I'd never complain about), I really like his voice, overall a really gorgeous album that I'm glad to have heard for the first (but definitely not the last) time! Favourite song: Halfway Home Least: DLZ
Absolutely killer. Rock with excellent vocals, some interesting beats, great instrumentation. Hard to categorize - a little pop, a little rock, even a little D&B. Enjoyed it start to finish.
Skön musik, varierad och kompetent, men inte så spännande. Trea
Didn't love this. Not terrible, nothing at all that really grabbed me on it either. Probably not going to revisit (although it is, again, not a _bad_ album), and slightly inauspicious start to this whole thing.
I thought this sounded awfully modern for an 80s band, then I checked the date (I guess I was thinking of Television?). I thought this vacillated between pretty cool and swings that just didn’t work (the “rapping” parts especially suck). Overall thought it was interesting and more worked than didn’t.
3.3 I thought "wolf like me" was on this album but I guess I was wrong. That song is a burner. I think I've listened to this album a few times over the years as I remember being critically acclaimed and liking a couple of the bands songs. Those listens didnt stick and I dont think this one will either. A few songs sounded like Bowie and I liked DLZ
Something a bit different, inoffensive but I couldn't get into it.
Delighted to see a second album from these guys on here!
Completely forgettable 2000's rock.
Pleasant and light?
4 stars
1.5 stars I couldn’t remember why when there was a lot of hype on this band I never really listened to them. But right away into this album I remember giving “Return to Cookie Mountain” a try and finding it underwhelming and not getting it. I felt similarly about this album. It had its moments, but overall I felt like it was music that I may have pretended to like in pseudo intellectual conversations with hipster teens in the 00s, but would never have had any genuine interest in or experience authentic joy in listening to. I wanted to feel differently, but in the end it fell flat for me.
DLZ is catchy, and I'd listen to this album again. However, overall, I'd say its a mid-tier album.
Ehhhh; it’s ok.
funky
An interesting art/alt rock album that has a generally upbeat vibe.
Average Indie Band.
I liked it
Didn't like the sound
I was very fond of TV on the Radio at the time, but these days they feel like a song band more than an album band for me. It was good to revisit some old faves - (Lover's Day 😘)
Quite a bit of variety, but all pretty bland.
Um disco extremamente diversificado, a ponto de se tornar impossível estabelecer uma identidade para o som da banda, o que pra mim compromete um pouco a experiência, soando como uma playlist aleatória. Mas é um álbum interessante e agradável.
Some decent stuff, not too memorable. 3 stars
known this album from breaking bad, when walter says "stays out of my territory", dlz in particular. great song. in fact the whole album is good.
This album wasn’t bad by any means. But they sound like a band you’d hear live and think “wow, these guys are amazing!” So you buy their CD at the show, listen to it literally one time, and then it just lives in your car until you need some quick cash and you sell some of your CDs.
Ok, this is great! There's a little overproduction at times, but the musicianship makes up for it. Solid 4 and I look forward to hearing more.
Decent. I knew DLZ from Breaking Bad. I have nothing else to say
i like that kind of science
Quite a crunchy album
I spent the whole time trying to decide if this was boring or beautiful. Sometimes I got into it, other times it sounded bland and fake deep. I did find myself bopping along so I'll take it and go straight down the middle
Nice mixture of funk and soul and Indie-pop. It's not life-changing or anything. But few albums are.
In my quest to figure out if these guys were British because, why not. I found that (a) they aren’t a predominantly white band (b) they look like Living Color and (c) I was really confused as to how they have over 1 million listeners since I had not heard of them before. This is decent enough, slightly weird crossing back and forth between pop, rock and alternative.
eu não dava NADA por esse álbum, mas ele é bem bom????? eu fiquei extremamente chocada que tem muitas faixas que eu provavelmente vou ouvir de novo, com sons bem interessantes, sem cair na monotonia. e ainda tem uma música que tocou em breaking bad. que achado!!!!
Good! Sounds like if Prince, Bowie, and Andre 3000 formed a band. But the influences are a little two obvious & the Art Rock-iness is a little too much for me. A 3, but could be a 4 on another listen.
It’s OK
Nothing here I enjoyed even a little bit
Having never heard of this band, I found the album a bit unusual, but I wasn't repelled.
A decent indie rock example, but no real standouts.
This is fine alt rock, I'm not sure it's TVotR's best. 3*
Don't see the appeal. Logorrhea for lyrics, subpar singing, mystery meat music. The few tunes I found catchy got sidetracked by at least one of these things.
TV On The Radio coming out of leftfield with Dear Science. I think I’ve heard of this band, but didn’t recognize any of their songs. It’s a decent electronica rock album with some interesting lyrics; DLZ and Red Dress as the best tracks. Death’s a door that love walks through… (2.1*s)
Tough to watch TV on the Radio but the band sounds pretty good. Interesting alt-rock pop. The B-Side of Dear Science is better than A with "DLR" taking top track spot. Continued through the bonus tracks and shouldn't have. Spotify has the "Non-Musical Silence" track (if it even is one) which is so hipster that I almost gave up on the band. "Dear Science, please start solving problems and curing diseases or shut the fuck up" is pretty great from Dave so I'll give this one 3.11 stars.
I've heard of TV On The Radio in passing over the years. They've never had a breakout hit to my knowledge so I never gave them a shot previously. Dear Science was a nice little indie rock entry that mixed it up a bit. Some decent arrangements and variance throughout the album. Nothing wowed me, but there was a handful of songs I liked enough that I'll probably check out some of their top songs and see if they have anything else to offer. Even if they don't have their place in music history I'd take entries like this of somewhat unknown contemporary indie acts over outdated albums or more run of the mill britpop acts. 3.02 stars
point2.
Packt mich nirgendwo.
Цей гурт дуже любила музична преса і цей альбом зокрема. Я що тоді, що зараз не викупаю його.
Як напевно багато хто, я вперше почув цей гурт коли вийшла відома серія брейкін бед, де Уолтер Вайт вимовив своє коронне stay out of my territory. І як же я тоді був вражений цією піснею, я подумав ще - як я міг пропустити цей гурт, це ж тупо геніально! І яким же було моє розчарування коли я послухав їхні альбоми. Власне зараз я ще раз спробував зацінити Dear Science і результат той самий. Звісно назвати це поганою музикою я не можу, але і виділити більше ніж 2-3 пісні теж не можу. Якась слабка електроніка, абсолютно нехукові приспіви ітд. Але DLZ все ще геніальна
I don't like to judge an album by whether or not it "belongs" on this list, if I can help it. After all, I generally always figure there has to be **some** reason why an album's here, whether I've heard of it or the band or not. What I'm more concerned about in these reviews is simply parsing, largely stream of consciousness, what I got out of them and why. "Should this be here?" is often an irrelevant question that doesn't fit in. It **often** isn't. And **if** I can help it... This might be one album where sampling the reviews beforehand might've impacted me in the wrong way. Not that I'm predisposed to hate it, or that I came in with expectations that're too high. Just that... Why **is** this album here? As much as I wanna avoid that question, I gotta remember, this **is** all being sourced from editions of a book titled '1001 Albums You **Must** Hear Before You Die.' So it's not thing to wonder why **exactly** the editor chose to include it in an edition. Now, before I get into that, I wanna speak about this album generally: it's pretty good. It's far from the hookiest or stickiest thing in the world, but for a bunch of funk- and soul-type songs over largely electronic instrumentation... It's not bad at all. Maybe it's trying a bit too hard to be Bowie in some parts... And maybe it could have been cut down a **bit**... But otherwise I rather enjoyed it, to be completely honest. And if I wanted to leave this review at that, I don't think I would've had much more to say. So that's maybe I'm tackling this angle; just to have more to talk about. But seriously, folks: shouldn't I be asking more from a book like this than something that's just "pretty good?" I already know hundreds of albums that're "pretty good." What makes **this one** so special that it gets to nudge out numerous other candidates? Way back when I talked about Lana Del Ray's 'Chemtrails Over The Country Club,' I mentioned that if I had things my way, no album under five years would be included on a list like this. Albums need time to breathe and prove their worth; they shouldn't just be let in on recency bias or hype over name recognition. And it's not like I play favorites on this, I should say: I gave David Bowie's 'The Next Day' a bit of shit for that, so... Now, to be fair, this album was included in the 2014 edition, six years after its release. So, it should qualify, right? Eh... I mean, when I hear that an album is something I **must** hear before I die, I figure it should leave some lasting impact on culture. Y'know, there should be something I can hear and go, "Right, that's where that started" or "That's where this was taken to the next level." And maybe I'm just listening in the wrong places, but... I don't think I've heard this album's influence anywhere? I mean, certainly I wish indie rock had taken more cues from this thing's soul, funk and Prince influences; maybe I would've been hotter on Arcade Fire. But all in all, it sounds pretty unique to itself. I don't even know if there was anything in 2008 that sounded like it. 'In Rainbows' and 'Tha Carter III' happened in 2008. My point is just that, as I'm writing this, it's 2025. We're closer to this album being **20** years old... And I just can't hear any good reason why it **had** to be in a book like this. I mean, I am damn sure I can safely assume this was one of those "one edition wonders" that got the boot hard for newer hotness. Like, more than anything it must have been residual goodwill from TV On The Radio being a brief indie darling that got this album here. I can't really imagine any other reason. So, if I were rating this on a "Should it be here?" scale, I think I'd end up giving it... Maybe a 2, at most? Eh. But it doesn't deserve that. I enjoyed it too much to rate it that lowly. Like, seriously, "Family Tree" and "Lover's Day" had some stuff goin' on that I **really** liked. And, really, if an album can't be named something people **must** listen to before they die; if they can at least bring someone a little joy if they happen to stumble across it... If I were an album, I think I'd appreciate that more than anything. You could call this ending a cop-out given what I spent the rest of the review hammering on... But, frankly, what I said just the truth, I think. The book's just a gimmick, anyway, like any other list like it. So... Yeah.
Dug this one, but not much else to say from me. 4.5 bumped down to 4.
I’m at a 4.5 that I think I’ll bump up to a 5, though I’m a little shaky on it. The last time we got TV on the Radio was November 2024, and it happened on a day when we got a glitch and basically got two albums at once. This album is making me wonder if I gave “Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes” a fair enough shake & not just a slightly rushed job to play catchup, because I found myself really enjoying this one. I gave that album a 3, with an analogy about it having too many upward hills on a roller coaster & not enough drops. Nowadays, I find myself a little more patient with longer songs to reach a certain point, so it could just be my tastes growing a bit, but it also could be true that this album comes straight out of the gates a lot quicker. This album’s first 3 tracks clicked really nicely for me, especially by the obviously “It’s The End of The World”-inspired track “Dancing Choose”. I think it hit its first shaky point on “Stork & Owl”, which just totally bounced off of me for a couple of reasons (namely the vocals feeling especially weird). “Golden Age” also felt a little shaky, but it might just be bad timing given the whole religious psychosis surrounding the rapture bullshit that happened recently & the lyricism feeling just a bit too “literal” now compared to how this might’ve been perceived in 2008. Thankfully, they rebounded immediately with how lovely “Family Tree” is – seriously, that’s a standout track. “Red Dress” is good too, but I fear the lyricism / vocals go by just a little too quickly to really comprehend the depth of the subject matter. It’s sort of a Hey Ya thing, but at least Andre draws attention to it blatantly, whereas this one feels like it’s almost an afterthought, even if it’s not. It’s a groovy one, but I just feel like it’s very easy not to hear him and just want to dance. After that, I think the album glides to a pretty strong finish; “Love Dog” feels like a sort of lo-fi Phil Collins track about someone deeply devoted with nobody to show love to, and I think the slower tempo of the track works for it. The outro is a little long though. “Shout Me Out” is super fun, especially with the tempo change in the middle absolutely boosting the energy of the track to a higher level. The volume is a little overblown though. “DLZ” is good; it feels like a shoegaze-y Tame Impala, and it’s “that one from Breaking Bad”, but even without the context of how well it’s used in the show, I think it just grabs the attention in a way that feels kind of authoritative. “Lover’s Day” is lusty as hell, but I think the track works as a kind of triumphant ending; besides, something about the idea of relationship-affirming sex that’s so good it invokes a marching band, heavenly strings & a church choir is so comedically over the top that I can’t help but admire it. It’s all of the “thoughs” that are present through this thing that are keeping me at a shaky bump up; I do think this has enough little paper cuts that build up to the point where I could go down to a 4, but I never found myself actively disappointed with a track other than “Stork & Owl”. The rest of my complaints are basically just nitpicks about the lyricism occasionally feeling a bit confusing (hell, the childbirth scenario of the opening track didn’t click until he said “womb”), the mixing being a little strong at times (plenty of shoegaze-y / wall of sound elements that feel a bit overblown), & occasionally some vocal structures that just felt a little too loose (“Red Dress” comes to mind). It’s not a thousand paper cuts though, so for as much as the album feels like it has “flaws”, I just think the foundation the album is built on is strong enough (& I just enjoyed it enough) that I think bumping it down wouldn’t feel fair. It’s a shaky bump up, for sure, but I think this is a good enough album to earn it. I certainly think it’s more enjoyable than the last one we got, though I may need to give it another try. It’s a strong 50 minutes regardless, and the floor is a 3 if all the little issues do compound that badly. For me, it’s a 4.5 that earns the bump up to a 5.
This isn’t bad per se. It's just very lifeless to me. Love Dog is ok.
I enjoyed the other TV On The Radio album on this list, but Dear Science didn't really do much for me. It's pleasant enough, but not much more