TV on the Radio - Dear Science
|
List Price: Our Price: $8.93 You Save: $5.05 (36%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Dear Science
Free Music Review: Don't listen to these reviews
Hit: 5 Stars
Are you kidding me? This is album of the year as of november, 10 2008. I believe this to be the first flawless TV On The Radio album. It is a masterpiece in production and musicianship and may be the greatest lyrical work the band has recorded. No other band/musician in any genre this year has recorded anything this monumental. Dear Science remains progressive and interesting without being pretentious or sacrificing talents in order to be trendy or cool. This is grade A art-rock.Free Music Review: Not as good as Return to Cookie Mountain, but worth getting
Hit: 4 Stars
Having listened to Return to Cookie Mountain several times a day for over a year, I was eagerly anticipating some new material from TVOTR. Return to Cookie Mountain is one of my all-time favorites, so I had really high expectations for Dear Science. When I first listened to it, I was sorely disappointed. Unlike Return to Cookie Mountain, Dear Science contained some trackes I actually disliked (a lot). I decided to give it a chance and realized it's a 'grower'... the more I listen to it, the more I like it. The last four tracks are particularly strong. I think a lot of the reviews of this album (in newspapers/magazines) are overly generous, but it is by no means a waste of money. In fact, if you are not a TVOTR fan, this album will probably appeal to you more than their others. I think it will have a more universal appeal. Free Music Review: Excellent Album
Hit: 5 Stars
Very great album. Love the band. Just saw them live a week ago and decided to pick up their new album. Every song on here is a little different and very well done.Free Music Review: Serious fun
Hit: 4 Stars
I'll admit right away to feeling a little out of my depth as I sit down to write this review. I'm a latecomer to the whole TVOTR thing. I don't currently own a copy of Return To Cookie Mountain (soon to be corrected, however), despite its apparent esteemed status in the post-2000 indie canon. I'm in my 30s and am feeling increasingly distanced from the plethora of new indie bands that appear on the scene every year. Maybe that's not a bad thing, maybe it's inevitable, but I guess I am just having a harder time separating the wheat from the chaff. I'll admit to having bought this CD on a whim, largely because it's a step outside what I typically listen to and I am trying to branch out some more. All that to say, this is not the review of someone who is intimately familiar with the band's prior recorded output.
I believe that this band is in the same general age category as myself (I recall reading that somewhere, at least) and that doesn't surprise me when I hear this CD. I recall reading in the same article that the band member being interviewed referenced the Cure and other 80s alt-rock bands as touchstones in his musical development. I hear a lot of that here and I like it, since that is the music I listened to back in high school as well. But the key is, this band doesn't just stop there. I hear Prince influences, the Antibalas horn section, and a lot of digital sounds in the mix too. Yes it does seem very produced but for some reason this doesn't bother me that much because there is so much else to pay attention to. Then there's the matter of the lyrics. In "Red Dress," probably the emotional core of this album, Adebimpe lays it all on the table - I urge anyone considering whether or not to buy this album to look up these lyrics online and read them. They are pure poetry, plain and simple, describing with empathy and sympathy the confusion of the world we live in. Other songs on this album are well-written too but none rise to quite these heights.
I see a lot of criticism for this album on here and I can see where some of it is coming from. At its worst, there are places where the album sags under the weight of the production, and the darkness of some of the lyrics does not mesh with the dance beats. For me though, when it comes together on songs like the aforementioned "Red Dress," it really works. The band obviously has the ability to write great songs, and perhaps it would be to their benefit not to bury this quite so much in production. However this is small stuff. I really enjoy this disc on multiple levels and am ready for more from this band. Time to order Cookie Mountain.
Free Music Review: Straightforward yet enjoyable TVOTR (4.5)
Hit: 4 Stars
So I wasn't into the band from the beginning. But I did eventually get into these guys. Return to Cookie Mountain (with Bonus Tracks) was completely unlike anything else I had heard when I first gave it a shot. It hasn't left my CD player and you'd be a bit shocked too how much I like it. It got me going back to the earlier catalog from the group which I like but nowhere to near the extent of that one.
This follow-up is a worthy successor and it's possible I'd give it a 5 if I didn't know what the peak material sounds like. There are no weak songs on "Dear Science," TVOTR's most accessible album to date. The single "Dancing Choose" in particular is incredible, particularly the catchy bass and interplay of its funky and fast verses and more laid back chorus. However, the ballads here are just incredlbe. "Stork & Owl" is really beautiful and "Family Tree" reaches a certain sophistication that even earlier fans should be proud of.
You have a lot of more dance/funk-type songs here. "Crying" and "Red Dress" are perhaps more straightforward, and I like the direct approach of the lyrics, even if hearing the f-word so early in a song initally jarred me as a listener. Then you have something like "Golden Age" which has a nice buildup and awesome falsetto verses from Kyp.
The tone is sometimes changed and stuff like "Love Dog" and "Shout Me Out" at least serves as something worthwhile in the mix. "Halfway Home" in particular shows the creative spark from the band that drew me in to begin with. And "DLZ" goes in its own pace as well, working more in its repetition than a traditional song structure.
I think this is a pretty worthwhile release from the band and worth checking out, possibly in the top five of this year. It's totally entertaining and has its lyrical relevance like other works. I haven't heard the exclusive download tracks but "Dear Science" is full of memoralbe and good enough moments to make the purchase worthwhile.