TV on the Radio.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

So Inc is the only other person on here I remember ever saying anything about these guys, and I wanted to see if anyone else has been listening. Their EP, Young Liars, came out last year and received pretty much universal acclaim, and for good reason - it's probably the most self-assured and exciting 25 minutes of music I've heard in a long time. Their first full-length, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, came out a few months back and is almost as good, if not quite as consistent as its shorter counterpart.

 

The one single you might've heard is called "Staring at the Sun" (incidentally, why does every goddamn band name a song that if you give them long enough?). It's urgent, driving synth, kind of momentum put to music, and a great vocal. I don't know how to really label 'em - experimental noise rock bluesy gospel soul music? Whatever you call it, it's fucking aces. Recommendations include that track, "Young Liars," a doo-wop version of the Pixies' "Mr. Grieves," and "The Wrong Way," the big-time opener to Desperate Youth. If you're a lyrics man they're all over the place good and nuts, maybe peaking at the immaculate "Cover your balls, cause we swing kung fu" (which every review of them to this point has noted, thereby making me a tacky little dickbag). I haven't really heard interplay between vocals and instrumentation this immediately affecting since My Bloody Valentine's Loveless. Big claim, I know. I might regret it in a few months.

 

Anyway, these albums are cheap ($5-6 for the EP, $8-10 for the LP) and great. I especially point fans of Interpol in the direction of TV on the Radio, because despite definite differences in sound I think they're working on the same level of atmospheric excellence. Buy them. If I'm not enough, just let the fro-beard guide you.

 

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

I got to do a phone interview with the dude in the middle. Nothing of note, though I managed to get a laugh out of him when I pointed out a review that called their music "dark wop."

 

I agree with just about everything Edwin said, so I've little to add, other than that they sound completely different live. They tour with a full band, and, um, rock.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Okay, since you're all looking at this thread and not actually saying anything, I'm going to help you along.

 

Go here to get a free copy of the song "Satellite."

 

And click this link to get a free copy of the song "Staring at the Sun." These are the first two songs off the Young Liars EP. For some reason I'm compelled to make you hear these guys. Bastards should be paying me.