Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

TV on the Radio

Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

Label: 4AD Release Date: 07/06/2004

6169
_adam_ by Adam Anonymous June 9th, 2004

Like the thawing of an ice age, the glorious end is nigh. The post-Strokes era is about to be smashed apart. The gravy train is over. TV On The Radio are the first burning shafts of astral rays set to banish the soulless musical freeze forever.

In a culture overshadowed by pre-determined image, how refreshing to find a band as visually remarkable as the art they slave over. Afros, beards, and a no-nonsense aura of clothing not pulled off a rack for them by dead-eyed A&R men. And how fitting too they should hail from New York State, arriving from Brooklyn, superhero-style, in the nick of time.

As with most longevity-spewing, truly great records, ‘Desperate Youth...’ may pass you by the first time around, maybe even continue to wave from the back of a ever-disappearing imaginary vehicle by listen six. If spending five milliseconds to figure the origins of an album’s noises is a particular favourite pastime (i.e. “hey, there’s a man disinterestedly peeling out another shit, tinny retro guitar riff”), this LP isn’t exactly recommended.

Instead, TVOTR splurge slabs of strange sound into almost freeform structures that draw on jazz sensibilities, alt-rock peculiarities and the whole NYC infatuation with cool. The bass throbs with intent, the drums are so minimal that it would be easy to disregard them without even realising their existence. But for those very reasons, this is high fashion for those left cold in the dark months and years dominated by wanker dress-sense – a name to drop for those with too much integrity to stoop so low ordinarily.

Tunde Adebimpe’s abstract lyrics are thickened with the spine-tingling harmonious melodies of Kyp Malone – one comparison that will either ruin or define them is, unusually, barbershop quartet. Another that won’t relent is – gulp – Peter Gabriel’s haunting tones. Still, given the pick of one Genesis torchbearer to be mentioned within the same breath as, most would be happy to avoid a fucking Phil Collins name-check.

Nick Zinner even proves that perhaps that whore-costumed, big-mouthed cock of a ladyboy singer may not be as far as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ talent stretches. Which, on the evidence provided to date, is about the length of Diego Maradona’s penis (if you’ve seen the pictures, you will understand). The YYYs guitarist adds six-string scratchiness to the magnificent ‘Staring At The Sun’, which the keen will have already picked up on last year’s superlative debut EP, ‘Young Liars’. It’s an epiphany of glorious, simple music packed into a perfect summation of TVOTR’s quite brilliantly original style.

And if they’re able to translate such splendour into a befitting live experience – which with luck they’re doing around Europe as we speak – then accessible experimentation has a new clutch of posterboys. Pray they will.

  • 9
    Adam Anonymous's Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees


  • A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash



Left-arrow

Clearfall

Howlateitwas EP

Mobback
6213
8487

Hell Is For Heroes

Transmit Disrupt

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143
  • news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141

    news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139
  • Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138

    Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137
  • Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136

    Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
  • Festival Review


    25 years of SPOT Festival: DiS Picks Its Best 11

  • 106134
MORE


    Interview


    Interview: Bjork talks piracy, punk, Lady Gaga ...

  • 79700
  • review


    Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence

  • 95999

    Interview


    With Nile and I: DiS meets Nile Rodgers

  • 98023
  • review


    Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions

  • 55003

    news


    The DiS Community's... 101 Favourite Albums

  • 85886
  • feature


    Panic Prevention: At the drink with Jamie T

  • 14183

    Staff-generated


    Reviewed: Shut Up And Play the Hits a documenta...

  • 83336
  • feature


    New Emo Goth Danger? My Chemical Romance confro...

  • 89578
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2023 DROWNED IN SOUND