| TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light |  |
I usually try wait a little while for someone else to review a new album, or at least until I’ve listened to it enough that when I hear a track I like I don’t have to go look up what it’s called. But you know what? I really like TV on the Radio and I really like their new album. Since it came out I’ve listened to it every chance I’ve gotten, which hasn’t been often enough, let’s be honest. But I’m really enjoying Nine Types of Light and I wanted to talk about it before it was too late and we discover the tenth kind of light (did we already? Are types of light a thing?).
It seems like just yesterday I listened to Dear Science for the first time and wondered where these guys had been my whole life. But that was almost three years ago. Just like Radiohead, now they’re back and not really bursting into new territory. But, come on, Dear Science would be pretty hard to top, don’t you think. What Nine Types of Light misses in not being pretty much perfect, it makes up in being TV on the Radio’s most consistent, accessible album yet.
Sometimes “accessible” is a euphemism for boring or safe, but this is not the case with Nine Types of Light. The songs the band included are not about how the world is falling apart, rather, they’re about more familiar, warmer subjects, like love. And damnit, why not? Can’t these guys focus on the lighter side of life for a change? I think so.
Things seem a little slower this time around, they lack the desperation of a “Wolf Like Me” or “Dancing Choose,” instead taking their time to build up into sonic pleasure-centers. At times, Nine Types of Light is soulful, funky and even rocking. Even though this album might be a little less grim and a little more comfortable than you might expect, if you’re a fan of the band of even bands kind of like TV on the Radio, you’ll find something to cling on to here.
Favorite Tracks: “Second Song,” “Will Do,” “All Falls Down”