Nine Types of Awesome

It’s probably no surprise that TV on the Radio ended up on the list, though maybe a little surprising that they slid in at the bottom. I loved this album, but it doesn’t rank among their best works. I still remember the first time I heard this band – spring of 2004, riding in PD’s truck as we pulled away from Best Buy in Rapid City. I remember hearing the first little saxophone lick on The Wrong Way which led into the driving bass-heavy beat. I remember thinking I’ve never heard music like this before. I remember becoming more and more intrigued the longer the song played. It may not have occurred to me immediately, but I also remember at some point thinking it was the exact music I needed in my life right then.

Seven years and three LPs later I’m still hooked. I will say that there was a golden age of TVOTR that started with the Young Liars EP, continued with Desperate Youth and ended with Cookie Mountain. With this string of perfection, they set themselves a ridiculously high bar. They weren’t able to reach those soaring heights on Dear Science, a solid but not spectacular album (which despite being their weakest effort still landed in my top 10 of 2008. I trust these guys implicitly and will buy pretty much anything they ever do). They don’t quite get there on Nine Types of Light either, but, for me, TVOTR’s output on an average day is better than most others acts on their best one. Further, this album improves on Dear Science and moves them closer to that earlier high water mark. The first track is, oddly, called Second Song and sets the table perfectly. From The Wrong Way to I Was a Lover to Halfway Home to this one, these guys know how to kick off an album. It has the same intensity I’ve come to expect, and though it starts out with a contemplative spoken word suggesting the same serious tone we’ve heard from them in the past, it soon gives way to a very danceable beat and lyrics espousing the power of music and love and light. In other words, it doesn’t take long to realize that this is their most upbeat, optimistic and playful album so far. Next up is Keep Your Heart with Kyp on vocals. Possibly my favorite on the album, it’s a beautiful song that hits me in my sappy, romantic spot much like DS’s Lover’s Day did. The love fest continues on You, a song that perfectly exemplifies the spacy, sonic feel of these ten tracks as a whole. From there the album has its ups and downs. Highlights include the lovely Killer Crane (Holy crap was that a banjo? Why yes, I do believe it was!), the sultry New Cannonball Blues, the frenetic Repetition and the deep chill of Forgotten. Strangely, the low point on the album is the song they chose as their first single, Will Do. It strikes me as a little dull and the lyrics feel uninspired.

This album holds extra special meaning to me because my wife is as passionate about this band as I am. Not only did they give us this beautiful album all about love, but they were kind enough to come and perform it for us on our 10^th wedding anniversary. That was a show I’ll never forget.

From Nine Types of Light to number nine on my list, the next artist is another can’t-miss from my personal hall of fame. He moved from Portland to Germany this past year, so my dreams of us becoming buddies have probably finally died.