TV on the Radio
A TV on the Radio show is combustible: always simmering, powder keg lit, the explosion inevitable. At Emo’s last spring, there was alchemy, and it was louder than love. In a festival setting, that’s not always transferable, but hell if the Brooklyn quintet didn’t light the match. Sparking off the feral “Wolf Like Me” and rapturous “Dirtywhirl” from stellar Interscope debut Return to Cookie Mountain, singer Tunde Adebimpe was the flame, weaving back and forth, his gospel truth flickering on the ceiling. He tugged at his skin like it was on fire. Guitarist Kyp Malone wins the award for best beard ever, and his guitar was a jet engine on “Young Liars” and “Dreams.” Even though they weren’t clear through the monitors, Adebimpe and Malone’s harmonies were still goosebump-inducing as a throng stood in the midday sauna. The horn section, windchimes on David Sitek’s guitar, and the bullhorn Adebimpe brandished – these were combative agents that coalesced, like watching a solar eclipse, and some of the songs sounded even better than on disc. TV on the Radio, one of the best live bands out there.
This article appears in September 22 • 2006.