 | Overall Rating: 9.4 Lyrics: 8.7 Melodies: 9.1 Arrangements: 10.0 Thematicity: 9.6 Originality: 9.4 Production: 10.0 |
I'll confess that I didn't pay much attention to TV on the Radio's first two records, Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes and Young Liars EP, both because I felt that the band's name and the name of their full-length verged on idiotic (suggesting that their lyrics would be equally so) and that while they seemed to be able to write a decent song, they didn't really stand out from other acts with similar influences. Return to Cookie Mountain, however, I can't ignore: while the band have somehow managed to trump their previous bid for stupidest album title in history (and I have to admit, it's a genuine contender), they have also created an album that far surpasses any of their previous work, deftly integrates melody and noise, evinces what is perhaps the most imaculate production job since Sigur Ros's Agaetis Byrjun, and offers lyrics at times as breathtakingly poignant as their album titles are ridiculous. More than that, they have hit upon an innovative stylistic combination that works: as strange as the concept may sound, the best description of Return to Cookie Mountain I can offer to that it's what Kid A or OK Computer would sound like if it were a soul record, for it succeeds in combining Radiohead's dark, percussive cadences, guitar squeals, and icy background noise with Tunde Adebimpe's virtuosic vocal stylings, which combine the humility and individuation of indie rock vocalism with the range, strength, subtlety, and emotive power of a Marvin Gaye or Otis Redding. The instrumentation on this album is incredibly varriegated (saxophones, windchimes, piano, synthesizer, snippets of whistling, electronic beats, sitar, and a plethora of backing vocals in different styles -- including some by David Bowie -- are featured), but each voice is given its due -- not only that, but the album manages to evoke a unified feel despite the diversity of the arrangements. The melodies are catchy, the beats infectious, and the rich, undulating wall of noise that underlies all of them fluid and nuanced. This year has not seen many truly exceptional releases so far, but Return to Cookie Mountain will certainly be one of the few serious contenders for album of the year when December rolls around.
Most of the tracks on Return to Cookie Mountain are structured around the twin pillars of Adebimpe's vocals and a solid, infectious beat that could just as easily support a hip-hop number. The melodies (apart from the vocal ones) are generally carried by a melange of several instruments sucessively phased into and out of the mix (though there are exceptions, most notably "Wolf Like Me," whose guitar emphasis and pounding chorus make it the most rock-oriented piece on the record). One interesting thing is that most of these instruments are analog; another is that, excepting a few piano hits on "Hours" and "Province," they consistently stick to drone rather than rhythm, which they leave to the percussion alone. The album's opening track, "I Was a Lover" provides a good introduction to what the rest of the record is about, with its seemingly chaotic yet carefully orchestrated background noise and dark tone, and also offers the most exquitite example of the emotionalintensity carried by Adebimpe's soulful falsetto. Following this track, the album launches into a series of potential singles, including the evocative, near-shoegazer "Province," until it decides to take a break with the haunting yet poppy, Brian Wilson-esque vocal and percussion interlude "A Method," and after that (or al least from "Dirtywhirl" on), things go from great to amazing. "Blues from Down Here" and "Tonight" are probably the album's best two individual tracks, both musically and lyrically, and they also feature some of the most impressive engineering. While we're on the subject of lyrics, I should mention that TV on the Radio's lyrics are generally quite good, but not uniformly so. The reason for this has more to do with the band's occasionally going overboard on the Dionysian side of things and momentarily descending into stereotypically emo (in its negative sense) sequences like "transfer my tragedy," but I can't fault Adebimpe merely for the modernist leanings he displays on tracks like "Dirtywhirl" and "Playhouses" -- in fact they're often an asset, if calling them an "asset" when referring to an intelligent, inspiring tour de force like "Tonight" isn't a form of sacrilege. Really, there is nothing out of place on this record either lyrically or musically, and my minor quibbles are more a matter of philosophical differences than aesthetics. Return to Cookie Mountain is an incredible record, one that everyone should hear and one that everyone will fall in love with for its unique vision, for its exquisite production, for its complex yet masterfully arranged wall of surprisingly melodic backround noise, for its rhythms, for its lyrics, for Tunde Adebimpe's vocals, for its pop sensibilities, or for any and all of the above.
-BT
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