TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light (2011)

Nine Types of Light is a soulful album, borrowing as usual from funk, post-punk and electronic music styles. The production value creates some distance between the listener and the sounds, which makes this something as a grower. Having not listened to this band since their last release in 2008, and only giving their previous albums a handful of cursory listens each, I did not know what to expect from this album but the time felt right to give these guys another chance.

After spending some time with this album, I’d be inclined to believe TV on the Radio are at their best when the songs are catchy. They aren’t a band that can get by on a great sound or on an interesting atmosphere. Not that their sound is especially bothersome, but when the melodies don’t work, the entire song just falls flat on its face for me. Examples are “No Future Shock” which just feels too cluttered in combination with the synthesizers and layer of fuzz that covers the track and “New Cannonball Blues” which had some annoying vocals.

There are more good moments than bad ones here though. The first track, “Second Song,” “Keep Your Heart,” and “Repetition” are all fantastic songs. “Killer Crane” is a more atmospheric track that works well and the last track on the album, “Caffeinated Consciousness,” is a bombastic song that is about as funky as they get on this album, but I thought it served them well to end the album on a different note.

I’m not totally nuts about this album like a lot of people probably will be. There are some really catchy, soulful moments on this album. The general sound of it, mainly due to this warmth given off by the synthesizers, is warm and approachable. Save for a few awkward moments where it felt like too much was going on and a few moments where the vocals bugged me, this is worth checking out.