Album Review: TV on the Radio - Dear Science, (3.5/5)

I think I may be missing the boat on this one. While critics are raving about Dear Science, the third album from New York's TV on the Radio, I'm kind of ho-hum about it. Q Magazine gave it five stars--the only new album they've given that too so far this year--and Metacritic has it at 90. I'm not saying it's bad, but I don't see why it's the album of the year.

Opening track "Halfway Home" gets things off to a good start, layering varied percussion, guitar and synth sounds under the falsetto of lead singer Tunde Adebimpe. The song nicely ups its urgency when it breaks into an electric guitar bridge. "Crying" is less modern, more funky, and features a brass section of sax, trumpet and trombone amongst the keyboard programming. Upbeat "Dancing Choose" has a heavy electronic bass line, more funky horns, and a rap-like vocal delivery.

"Stork & Owl" is mellower and sparser, little more than electronic beats and a stringed orchestra. It's rather plodding though, and the poetic lyrics aren't enough to win me over. It's the own drawback of the first half of the album though. "Golden Age" is a good mix of electronic keyboards and acoustic brass and strings. "Family Tree" is a lovely standout--a tender ballad about a marriage proposal graced by strings and piano keyboards.

"Red Dress" draws a sharp contrast in an instant, profanely denouncing the war. The funky, upbeat track again adds a brass section over the active beats and electric guitar. Hearing the guitar here is particularly nice, as it generally gets buried (or is maybe absent?) in the layered sound mixes. Melancholic "Love Dog" brings back the electronic sounds, with horns and strings breaking through during the first chorus. This is a lovely song--one of the standouts of the second half.

"Shout Me Out" has a prominent, rapid-fire bass line, but is otherwise pretty laid back. I like the beat here and how it changes several times during the electric guitar bridge. Then there's "DLZ"--not sure what that stands for, but it's dark and one of the more electronic sounding songs. "Lover's Day," about an afternoon delight, is too busy for my liking, again throwing in a hefty mix of percussion, vibrating guitars, and brass instruments. ITunes bonus track "Dogs of Light" is worth noting. It's actually one of my favorites--a soulful, laid back ballad performed as a duet between Adebimpe and a female vocalist.

I'm not a devotee of this group. I bought their last album, Return to Cookie Mountain, because Spin named it the best album of 2006, but I didn't care for it. Critics have written that Dear Science is more accessible, and while I certainly like it better too, I'm not willing to shower it with accolades to the degree they are. It's kind of like a funkier Arcade Fire, another band that critics love that I'm not that into. Good, but not wonderful, in my opinion.

Best: Family Tree, Halfway Home, Dancing Choose, Golden Age, Love Dog, Dogs of Light