TV On The Radio Glows In The Darkness

The commonly acknowledged influences lurking in TV On The Radio’s music have always started with Bowie, and then Peter Gabriel, but in another chance moment of opportune confluence, I was thinking of one more possible influence this week: Pere Ubu.

By neither purpose nor plan, I was pulling a lot of Pere Ubu off of my shelf prior to my listening of TV On The Radio’s new (and great) elpee, so when I started soaking in Nine Types Of Light, I was surprised to notice the similarity in the way that Ubu’s David Thomas and TVOTR’s Tunde Adebimpe swing wildly across the octave range. Also, in sonic terms, TVTOR’s compositions are deeply layered in electronic atmospherics, a trait that Pere Ubu is legendary for.

Look up “light” in nine out of ten dictionaries and you’ll find nine ways to define the word. In the ten tracks that compose Nine Types Of Light, you’ll find ten different stories that shine a light in the darkness. You’ll also find ten tracks that represent a band that is still defining and refining its sound. It’s the calmest record they’ve put together yet, and the most soulful.