Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

Regrettably, I don’t think I’m a big fan of these guys. I’m not sure what it is about them. This is the third TOTR album I’ve listened to now, and apart from a few specific songs, I’m just not that into them. It’s a shame no doubt, but I don’t think I’ll be losing sleep over not liking this band. Favorite track: Staring at the Sun

Already knew this one, I enjoy the band but besides a few songs (imo Staring at the Sun, Dreams and Bomb Yourself), the album is meh

Insanely hipster indie rock with a side of production as art? Check….. wait don’t run away because this is actually very good. Fuzzy bass, clicks and hisses, vocals that shift in the mix. It’s hard to pin down the songs. There are hooks but they are deliberately obscured. An intriguing puzzle of an album

Terrible. Una especie de arcade fire, pero en este caso sin gracia ninguna

Seems promising

Experimental, slow and steady rythms, a band trying to figure out its sound, yet, great sound and production.

Enjoyed overall.

4.0/10 Wasn't really digging this...

Tried hard to be hipster interesting but didn’t land

I love TV on the Radio. I have seen them live they are fantastic. Very creative and different. This was a groundbreaking album when released however I like their new stuff better than their old stuff.. x

In another life, this could have been some kind of dark indie hit. I think it was a little before its time with this Avant garde sound, but in a world where Tame Impala is back on the radio after a 10 year hiatus (October 2026) from hitmaking, there’s definitely room for music like this. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pretty good ambient indie stuff, nice background and pretty chill.

Didn't like it like I hoped I would given some of their other songs. Maybe I just need to try again another day.

They were never my thing but this is decent enough. Opening track did nothing for me, was planning for way worse.

Having one album by this band on the list is contentious, but having two is unbelievably self-indulgent. I can't stand this at all, mainly because of the horrific vocals which are among the worst I've ever heard. It's also an incredibly frustrating album. It clearly thinks it's too clever to be indie or garage rock but it's nowhere near unconventional enough to justify sitting within the realms of experimental rock. It's as though it's often still pandering to a template despite wanting to try and break out, with hints of krautrock-esque rhythmic repetition and noise rock abrasion all eventually falling flat and going nowhere of note. I did appreciate some of the Lightning Bolt-esque distortion on the guitars at least despite no riffs standing out.

A little bit of a downer at some points. The male falsetto voice was a bit much at times. I liked some of it though.

I never really listened to TV On The Radio until later on in their career. After Dear Science got lots of attention, it wasn't until the album after that (Nine Types of Light) that I got one of their albums. I really liked it but after one further album they called it a day. It felt very similar to my experience of Pavement a decade earlier. A band everyone is raving about that I kept meaning to check out and when I eventually did with Terror Twilight I loved it. Only for all the hipsters to say "No, you need to check out their earlier, weirder stuff". The entry point that you cane I on though tends to dictate your feelings towards the rest of the catalogue and I personally liked the .ore accessible, mature sound of the fourth/fifth album over the debut. However, going back to this, it's no Slanted/Enchanted, I found the a capella stuff a bit grating after a while and there aren't many tunes here. I can see there are some interesting ideas here but it's all a bit too scattergun and fidgety for me. I'm awarding three stars because I like them but more for what they became than what they do here.

Sometimes quite o.k., sometimes a bit weird. 1,5

TV on the Radio, but NOT the album with their big hit? I admittedly don't know much outside of their big hit. This is darker and heavier than most would expect from an indie group, but it also gets real artsy at points. Like annoyingly artsy, unfortunately. I also didn't find the one single to be that strong either. Guess I was expecting a little more, but they apparently have another album that I've yet to draw on this list, so maybe my tune will change.

I liked the weird countertenor vibe

One of those albums where I like the instrumentation and the riffs, and the lyrics are alright, but I don't enjoy the style of singing. Ultimately okay, but not something I'll return to much.

This is simply boring. Nothing interesting on this album.

Very boring.

I was living in Brooklyn at the same time as the hey day of this group but they seemed to be living in a very different Brooklyn world than my own. I remember seeing them on TV around that time and not really getting. I still don't really get it but I don't really mind it either.

Aside from the great "Staring at the Sun," I haven't returned to this album much since its highly acclaimed debut. Now I remember why: I find the falsetto double-tracked vocals annoying, and they are all over this album. I don't remember noticing them on subsequent TV on the Radio releases (which are great), so maybe reined that in. Still, "Staring at the Sun" is awesome, and there's a lot of inventiveness on here that I appreciate.

Surprisingly mellow record. I appreciate them more when they up the tempo.

enjoyed

New to me and was a good start. Overall it was just ok though, became a bit one dimensional as I kept listening

Sometimes I get frustrated doing this list, but today is one of those days that makes it worthwhile. I've heard of TV On The Radio, but never really listened to them or were familiar with their music. I really loved this album. It's weird and quirky, but in the best way. I did think the vocals got a little annoying on some of the songs and the album did drop off at the end a little. But, I added several songs to my favorites playlist and discovered a band I'll definitely be seeking out more!

2000s art rock. Pretty cool darker indie rock. Some annoying, rambling tracks.

I’m pretty sure I’ve heard some of this band on the radio and didn’t mind it, but this album was definitely not my jam. Lots of weird, whiny sounding singing.

I forgot how much I loved this album, just the stripped down, rhythmic harmonies, especially on “Ambulance.” God tier song

Interessante Instrumentierung, aber ein wenig langweilig

1001 albums: It’s a pretty great debut album my favourite part of the album is the vocal styles and harmonies throughout and the different genres they utilise such as funk and even doo wop which is pretty unique all things considered.

Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes TV On The Radio 2004 Genres: Rock Styles: Art Rock, Downtempo, Indie Rock 1. The Wrong Way (★★★★★) -Contexto: Habla sobre ser una persona negra en Estados Unidos y la trampa de tener que "actuar" la propia identidad frente a la mirada blanca (la imagen de la "película del negro mágico" con la que arranca). El narrador repasa su inteligencia, su espiritualidad y su sexualidad con ambivalencia, y termina con una imagen que remite a un siglo de lucha por los derechos civiles. -Fav 2. Staring at the Sun (★★★★⯨) -Contexto: Sobre entregarse por completo a algo que sabés que te va a quemar -amoroso o existencial- en vez de vivirlo a medias. La letra tiene ecos de un poema de Rumi sobre volver a una fuente única, y contrapone el deseo de "arder" con la idea de que todo lo material (nombre, plata, cuerpo) es temporario. 3. Dreams (★★★★★) -Contexto: Retrata una amistad que se apaga cuando una de las dos personas se mete de lleno en una relación de pareja y deja de ver el daño que causa. Es un tema sobre el duelo silencioso de perder a alguien que sigue presente pero ya no "ve" al otro. -Fav 4. King Eternal (★★★★☆) -Contexto: Una visión furiosa y casi apocalíptica, con imágenes de guerra, un sistema de justicia descripto como corrupto y ciego, y la angustia de traer hijos a un mundo así. Encaja con el clima paranoico post-11S que atraviesa todo el disco. 5. Ambulance (★★★★⯨) -Contexto: Cantada a capella (con Malone haciendo percusión vocal y Adebimpe la voz principal), describe un amor codependiente donde cada uno funciona como el daño y el sostén del otro al mismo tiempo: "seré tu choque si vos sos mi ambulancia". Es una de las piezas más elogiadas del disco. 6. Poppy (★★★★☆) -Contexto: Sobre una pareja que decide no caer en roles de "mamá" o "papá" entre sí, sino sostener cada uno su propia identidad dentro de la relación. Usa imágenes de animales que se emparejan en la naturaleza (pájaros, libélulas) para hablar de un vínculo maduro que no devora al otro. 7. Don't Love You (★★★★☆) -Contexto: Una ruptura directa, sin vueltas ni excusas: aceptar que el amor se terminó y decirlo así, sin buscar consuelo. Es el tema más lineal del disco en términos líricos, y el que la crítica suele señalar como el más flojo del conjunto. 8. Bomb Yourself (★★★★☆) -Contexto: Sátira feroz sobre el consumismo, la apatía política y la complicidad ciudadana con la guerra: una familia "bombardea su país" y después se sienta a mirar televisión como si no pasara nada. Es una crítica directa a la desconexión entre bienestar doméstico y violencia estatal. 9. Wear You Out (★★★★★) -Contexto: Cierre del disco con un relato sexual explícito y orquestado, con la tensión creciendo junto con la percusión. Narra el deseo físico inmediato y el pedido de entrega total al otro, sin metáforas políticas de por medio. -Fav -TOTAL = ★★★★⯨ (4,44)

New thing for me hearing a full album from them, the popular songs are by far the one with the most structure lol

Its a fine debut from a band I kinda like. Not a necessary inclusion for the list but you can see the potential here.

Was willing to write this off as merely bland and uninteresting. But the longer it went on, the more pretentious and irritating it sounded.

Inventive construction of songs; here is an arthouse band that makes enjoyable (but unusual) music - even the falsetto harmony works. THAT is refreshing.

A really nice surprise and a good combination of catchy and weird I'll definitely listen again and go deep in their other stuff

dreadful.

Not what I was expecting. Decent album. Had some good grooves. Will listen to more in the future.

the damage radiohead did…

Very experimental, the album combines familiar styles in a whole new way. I especially appreciated the barber shop quartet style songs, though some of them tend to drap with unnecessary soundscapes, You Could Be Love being the worst offender in this regard. At the same time, if the musisicans focus on being upbeat, I really dig their style so it's not all lost on me. Best songs are Staring At The Sun and King Eternal. 7/10, sometimes great sometimes annoying.

4/10

That was interesting. Some of it was pretty good but some of it hurt worse than the constant ear ringing I hear anyway… and about the same frequency

Good album. Just better ones out there

ok

Сара - 2 Марко - 3

Pretty decent; nothing incredible, nothing horrible.

Staring at the Sun is a GOAT. Solid album.

When it comes to TV on the Radio, they’re one of those bands where I genuinely enjoy the music itself, meaning the instrumentation, the textures, and the experimental edge are all really solid. But on the flip side, the vocal delivery leans heavily into that distinct indie rock style, and for me, it just doesn’t complement the music at all. If anything, the vocals feel like they undercut or even discredit what the instrumentation is building. I honestly feel like I’d enjoy this band so much more if the vocals were stripped away entirely.

Overall Rating - 2.39/5 (4.78/10). Early 2000s Art Rock. Pretentious and vaguely unpleasant.

Such a vibe. They commuted start to finish. After a few songs it becomes hypnotic. Not my normal jam but I dug this one.

Meh

Ga meg ikke så mye.

Yes, this is the super unique blend of doo-wop and post rock that everyone needed right after 9/11. It was a big part of the soundtrack to my early twenties. This is one of the predominant Williamsburg hipster albums that was all over the cultural landscape around that time. I hadn't listened to it in a while, and I thought it would have aged poorly. I've got to say I still really like it. I want to give it a 4.5 but I'll settle for a four. Vocally and lyrically it still stands the test of time even if some of the musical choices are outdated.

Not for me this one. Dark, mysterious, but dull.

I've listened to this a fair amount. Not sure how necessary it is but I like it just fine. More of a 3.5.

This had some good ones

This should be in the dictionary next to "art rock." The album was created in a heavy context. The band got together to work on it in the weeks and months after the World Trade Center attacks. There is grief, there is anger, and there is a rich sensual pleasure and strong statements of desire. The lyrics are as important to set the tone as the music. And it all sounds great.

doing way too much. its experimental in the worst way. I just sound annoying and i don't really understand why they sound the way they do. long and boring not a fan

Это оказался довольно интересный даунтемпо, трип-хоповый альбом. Нравится эта фишечка на некоторых треках с вот этой пущенной на фоне грязной, перегруженной дорожки звука, на которую уже наслаиваются вокал иногда духовые и/или прочие инструменты. The Wrong Way, Dreams - особенно хороши. А акапельная Ambulance - весьма оригинальна. Bomb Yourself - задаёт вайбика. А 'Wear You Out' - удивляет своим джемом на флейте в конце (при том, я погуглил, это не какие-то семплы, а челик реально играл). Отличный финал для альбома. Не уверен что буду это переслушивать, но это было интересно.

The Young Liars ep is pretty much my definitive TVOTR, followed by Dear Science. Repurposing Staring at the Sun and delivering a similar-sounding lead track in The Wrong Way to Satellite always struck me as a group rushing out material to meet a sudden demand. It’s not that this is a bad first effort or they leapt forward on a later record, but it feels padded out and over long.

No private session used for Spotify. I listened to this album a lot when it first came out. I must admit I was kind of taken aback by finding out I like such a juvenile sounding category as "Noise Rock", hey, it's right up there with "Stoner Rock". This album is filled with great songs, yes, it's different, but I like it.

Didn’t do a whole lot for me, but I did enjoy Staring at the Sun.

Started out okay but really wore me out. RYM: N Saved a song: N

decent, kinda interesting, kinda like algiers before algiers

Ok

Delightfully eccentric

273. ok

Though it is lacking sauce to really make it punch, this album still has something to it.

wear you out still amazing, but something remains missing....

Not my cup of tea.

This was an album I like conceptually. weird art rock is siemthing can get behind, but none of the songs stuck in my memory and the accapella got a bit grating.

Listening session: september 3rd, while getting ready in the morning Listened to before: no Thoughts: although this album was quite quirky, it didn’t stick with me for some reason Favourite track: Dreams

Sounds like Peter Gabriel. A little somber for me, though.

Three songs in I want a little more grit in their voice. Why are they so lighthearted? 9/11 was so recent. Don't tell me you've forgotten Farther in now. They sound too suave. They are scared to wail

Conflicted feelings about this one

i am neutral on this

2/5

#433 I’ve known about TVOTR for some time and always meant to check them out seeing as they are a band that I ought to like, so I did just that about a year ago, and this was one of the albums I listened to. I quite enjoyed listening to them back then but haven’t dabbled much since. Today was a reminder that I should listen more, and this album seemed to get its hooks into me more, the longer I listened. There is some weirdness to this album that landed rather well and definitely helped it stand out. Heard before? ✅ Would I revisit? ✅ Listen before you die? ✅ Fave track(s): Don’t Love You; King Eternal Rating: 8/10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Gave me Bon Iver vibes a little. Can appreciate the experimentation but not everything stuck

Interesting vocalizations

This is tge second thing I've heard from this band, after the Young Liars EP, and I already wasn't the biggest fan of that EP and this is around the same quality, there's some really good quality songs though don't get me wrong

The best thing about this one is its title. Otherwise, these are overlong droning songs delivered in a thin falsetto for the most part. Arty and pretentious. The only redeeming feature is that the first part of “Poppy” recalls the Pixies, at least reminding us of what a good band should sound like.

uma pena eu não ter gostado tanto desse como do outro que saiu deles

I’ve always found these guys boring and corny.

One of those albums with some really good stuff but not enough of it.

Great band. Great first album. Wish they still put out music.

Do caralhoooo. Intenso dms

Much better than expected. They're worth checking out more of their catalog.

Nah.

Tedious

Ha, sj ne morš verjet. Par dni nazaj sm preposlušala njihov sledeči album (Return to Cookie Mountain), ker mi je komad s tam prirasel k srcu ("Wolf Like Me"). I guess se moj exploration banda nadaljuje. (In končno vem, zakaj so bli na youtube Spiderman komentarji, očitno je v letošnjem filmu ta komad. Js sm sklepala, da v ta starih filmih se pojavil, tko k je komad iz nekje 2006.) Ful zanimiv prvi komad ("The Wrong Way"). In, so far, je sledeče vse všečno. Zj sm na dveh tretjinah albuma ("Poppy") in prejšnja trditev še kar drži. Super. Glih zame.

What makes an album pretentious? I don’t know, but this one is. What a load of waffle, look at us trying to be unique and interesting. Well they succeeded at the unique part, but not in a good way. 1/5

Don’t like the approach of a steady drone of noise in the background of the first three songs. Giving up.

I can really get behind this. Not the best, but still great.

I hate how this list lumps everything that is off into the Alternative category ... that shames the True ALT Artists. There should just be a category called "suck".

7/10 Fav Tracks: Dreams Heard before? --------–- ❌ Saved a new Song? ----- ✅ Saved Album? -------–-- ✅ Will Listen Again? ---––– ✅ Album Cover ----------– Reminds me of incubus