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TV on the Radio thrives on extremes. Introducing themselves with a lush and hopeful post-9/11 debut, the “Young Liars” EP (marked by signature track “Staring at the Sun”), the New York five-piece followed it with the harsh and aggressively political “Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes” and, more recently, the dense, kaleidoscopic explosion that was “Return to Cookie Mountain,” the band’s first release for a major label (Interscope Records).
So it should come as little surprise that for their eagerly anticipated third full-length, “Dear Science” (which, despite what the music blogs originally announced, does not have a comma in its title), TV on the Radio has stripped away much of the “Cookie Mountain” sonic maelstrom to create a sleek, linear collection that is the group’s most accessible release yet. Songs like “Golden Age” juxtapose “Young Americans”–era Bowie with Nine Inch Nails circa “Closer” to create some of the most intriguing music of 2008.
One thing that unifies all of TVOTR’s output is the massive vocal melodies of Kyp Malone and Tunde Adibempe. Drawing influences from gospel and doo-wop, they’ve replaced the stereotypical indie yelp with genuine soul chops.
Speaking on the phone from Brooklyn before a world tour, Adebimpe was both thoughtful and irreverent when ruminating about the current state of his band, that infamous comma and what it’s like to be directed by Jonathan Demme (he had a plum role opposite the Oscar-nominated Anne Hathaway in Demme’s latest film, “Rachel Getting Married”).
It sounds like there’s a lot more space on “Dear Science” than previous TVOTR releases, especially “Cookie Mountain.”
I was talking to Dave [Sitek, TVOTR’s producer] about it, and it was definitely a conscious decision to make every sound as isolated as possible, and the vocals really clear. I think that for him, this record was more about subtracting. It’s classic Dave, which is to go in the complete opposite direction from the last time. I personally really like it. I think the songs can breathe a lot better.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but it feels like the overall tone of this album is lighter, too.
Yes, absolutely. Sometimes good feelings are all you have left. [Laughs] We’d all kind of talked about making a dance record, something more up than usual. Not in a cheesy way, like we should all be drinking Red Bulls and wearing hot pink—although that would have been an interesting record!
So this is TV on the Radio’s dance album.
Absolutely. It came from touring and seeing what people connect with. We haven’t been a band that long, but we’ve toured a lot. And I can say that my favorite part of any show is when we’re in the middle of a room full of people that are dancing. All bands have played shows in places where it actually is a crime for people to dance [laughs], or worse, when people simply act that way. A large goal on this record was for us to have fun, and make it difficult for any audience not to move. It’s a weird enough thing to be staring at a person onstage that’s staring back at you. I’d much rather have a dance party than a séance.
It must really exciting to have been directed by Jonathan Demme in “Rachel Getting Married” and to get such favorable notices from the critics.
Once I got past the fear that someone had made a terrible casting mistake and I was going to get fired every day [laughs], it was a really nice opportunity to meet someone whose work I really admire. To have him be such a generous collaborator was one of the more inspiring things I’ve had a chance to do. The same goes for the entire cast and crew. I’ve never been on a set where everyone has been so intensely cool to each other.
What’s the truth behind the comma in the title of “Dear Science”?
The reality is that said comma does not exist. It was a proofreading error somewhere along the way in the initial press release. We just never took the time to say otherwise once it got out there. I was just talking to Chris Martin and I was saying how we should sell a little vinyl comma on this tour. That could be the extra comma in the title.
