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Review
Nine Types of Light arrives in the wake of solo records from members David Sitek and Kyp Malone, and is even more of a relatively bloodless affair than Dear Science when compared to the band’s excellent breakthrough brace. This is the kind of record that draws portentous phrase-mongering from hacks like "TV on the Radio make Important Music for Important Times". Did you note the capitals there, guys?
More accurately, you might say that TVOTR have become the band Radiohead’s detractors are thinking of when they barb their arrows for the Oxford troupe. That’s to say, they’re an ‘intelligent’ rock group incorporating other genres into a cerebral whole that performs none of the functions those sounds are supposed to perform. With Sitek’s production as superfluously busy as ever, this set winds up an over-fussy, inconsequential stew of soulless soul, funkless funk, and rock that doesn’t really rock.
But never mind if the group fails to strike a single vital note: this is art, people, some will find room in their heart for songs as uninspired and studio-bound (to these ears) as No Future Shock and Keep Your Heart, the latter of which sounds like a funk band on Rohypnol and amounts to little more than a knackered retread of Lover’s Day off the last record. A sense of boredom pervades, but occasionally they’ll stumble into a sort of blind momentum, as with Second Song’s radio-friendly strut ("The music’s all around me / But I haven’t got a single word to say") and New Cannonball Blues, which starts unpromisingly enough but gathers pace with some rowdy trumpeting towards the end.
But mainly, Nine Types of Light finds the band firmly in the grip of a middle age that doesn’t particularly suit them. So to put it in the popular parlance, it’s a Dull Record for Times that are Anything But.
--Alex Denney
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Customer Reviews
The first track, jokingly called second song, could come straight from Dear Science. Its exactly the same approach. I wouldn't be surprised to hear it was written at the same time. Its a joy to hear. Things go down tempo over the next couple of tracks and its whilst listening to them that you begin to notice the real difference - the fuzz and distortion is gone. The vocals are clearer and I think that this is an improvement - you can appreciate the lyrics more here. Tracks like Will Do have more impact because of this. Just like previous TVOTR albums different tracks appeal each time you listen. The label of Art Rockers should be forgotten by now as TVOTR are far more than this label. Their guitar driven clever rock is always welcome.
This album is also tinged with the sad news that bassist Gerard Smith died of lung cancer shortly after release. RIP Gerard.
'Dear Science' bestowed its blessings on the listening world?! Read more
Let us start by discarding the words "art rockers" and in turn highlight the cathartic impact you experienced when listening for the first time to the... Read more
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