#18 - Phil

TV on the Radio

Dear Science

2008

TV on the Radio is just the second band to appear twice on my personal countdown, and Dear Science is just the second album to appear on both my and Ryan & Steve’s respective countdowns. To put it simply – this band is amazing. After receiving unanimous praise for their sophomore full-length Return to Cookie Mountain in 2006, Tunde Adebimpe and the gang soon began working on their super-hyped third release in their hometown of New York City. Two years later, the result was the most praised album of 2008 by Rolling Stone, Spin, The Guardian, Entertainment Weekly… and now Rolling Fork’s Phil Welsh.

Dear Science was produced by the band’s guitarist/keyboard player David Andrew Sitek. I mention this because Sitek’s work on this record is among the best production I’ve heard on any album this decade. He pays extraordinary attention to details, as each song contains an incredibly high number of tracks all running simultaneously. Many times it’s even hard to tell what you’re hearing due to TV on the Radio’s unique mixture of electronic and acoustic-sounding instruments.

The album’s opener, “Halfway Home,” is one of my favorite opening tracks ever. Like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” it injects a rush of adrenaline into me that has almost never been matched, due mostly to Sitek’s work in gradually layering track after track until the song reaches a colossal magnitude of greatness. From there, the band’s sound constantly changes. “Crying” reminds me of the great pop tunes from the 80; “Golden Age” sounds like a descendant of the 70s disco era; and “Love Dog” begs you to hold up your lighter for the record’s greatest ballad. If I were a label and could sign only one band to a long-term contract today, it would be this one. -P.W.

It’s no secret, I love me some TV on the Radio. I believe we have collectively honored this band three times on this list. I don’t know what else I can say about this release as I wrote the #49 review of this record. I must say I’m glad Phil ranked this one above “Return to Cookie Mountain.” Nice pick. - Ryan

This is the first record that I think fully materialized for TV on the Radio. The "Young Liars" EP may be flawless, but the following two full-lengths just couldn't hold the weight of those tunes. Now with "Dear Science" I think they've come into their own and finally made a honed and complete work. Surprisingly doing so with a record as eclectic as ever, the Brooklyn group found a way of concocting a cohesive album of depth and innovation. A defining group for the decade. - Steve