TV On the Radio - Young Liars
(Touch and Go)
TV on the Radio plays the so-called "urban" equivalent of bedroom four-track indie pop. That is to say the aesthetic is lo-rent lo-tech lo-fi, with lots of wires and boxes churning up dirty beats and hazy layers of electronic detritus. Fortunately, however, the buzz and hiss is not in service of hackneyed (not to mention pathetic) suburban angst and (get over it) loneliness. Instead, what we get are gritty soundscapes and R&B-infused expansive melodies.
The songs are a welcome mix of influences. "Satellite" churns up pure soul vocals-layered harmonies and all-and jazzy flute over a relentless no-wave guitar drone, and then really starts piling on the dense noise. The best track, "Blind," with its lumbering beats and spare, reverb'd piano, sounds like walking alone down cold wet streets late at night. It is an epic track that slowly builds its depth in the way one gets lost in melancholy reminiscing ("I seen a girl with a guy/Her hair like yours, from what I remember"). The most fun, however, is the final track, unlisted on the cover, a bizarre street corner barbershop quartet take on the Pixies "Mr. Grieves."
This is certainly a unique musical experience. Touch and Go has come along way from Killdozer, however, they are certainly maintaining their commitment to digging up compelling music that may not find its niche elsewhere. What other label could go from cornering the market on drunken Texas pederast rock to providing an outlet for unpredictable and consistently intelligent genre-smashing experimentalists? I know of none.
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