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TV on the Radio Return to Cookie Mountain Released in 2006 9.1/10 Styles Post-Rock Experimental Rock Electronica Song Highlights I Was a Lover Playhouses Dirtywhirl |
Return to Cookie Mountain is the second release for avant-garde outfit TV on the Radio. The group's first album, 2004's Desparate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes was very well received - widely praised for its unique blend of styles and unrelenting creativity. This new album plays like a very natural extension of the group's first album (and their EP before it). Put simply, Return to Cookie Mountain is the sound of a great band getting even better at what they do. The album was leaked onto the Internet months prior to its official release, resulting in some very substantial (and warranted) hype. Upon the proper release, it was revealed that the tracklist had been revised from the leaked version, resulting in a highly anticipated album that still had some surprises in store for listeners too keen to wait for release day. The expectations had been set extremely high, but TV on the Radio managed to not only meet these expectations, but spectacularly exceed them. Searching for musical reference points proves futile, as you'll either arrive at a wide spread of minor influences that've been meticulously melded into one, or merely another TV on the Radio song. With that in mind, the band could've been content to make Return to Cookie Mountain nothing more than a sequel, as they seem to be the soul occupiers of their own little corner of the market. To be completely honest, in some ways it is a followup - the group's trademark amalgam of post-rock, doo-wop, electronica, vocal harmonies and soul (with a number of experimental tweaks) remains more-or-less intact. However, it's in the realm of songwriting where they've truly developed, as the songs on this disc prove to be remarkably catchy and endlessly fascinating, even past the heights of their admittedly excellent debut. The album opens with the spliced, moaning synth-bites of "I Was a Lover," and immediately the album sounds genuinely otherworldly. It's a perfect choice for opening track, as its broken melody proves to be one of the album's most enticing hooks, while it's gentle yet accessable flow serves to both ease the listener in and provide them with a glimpse of the group's eyebrow-raising production wizardry. Return to Cookie Mountain never really lets up from there on, as there isn't really a weak track anywhere on the album. The powerfully aggressive "Wolf Like Me" is sure to be the favourite of many a listener, while the rapid percussion and moody vocals of both "Playhouses" and "Blues From Down Here" are extremely impressive. "Tonight" and "Wash the Day Away", on the other hand, close out the album with sublimely paced ambience and atmosphereric production. While those tracks are all major standouts, the amazing "Dirtywhirl" seems to have cemented its place as my own personal highpoint, with what I consider to be one of the most addictive vocal performances you'll hear in any song this year. To top it all off, every track on Return to Cookie Mountain demands multiple listens, as subtle yet brilliant touches always lie beneath the surface of the songs, waiting to reward the listener for their discovery. TV on the Radio are genuinely a one-of-a-kind act. A group who splice genres to the point of being completely genre-defying themselves. They've clearly been a great band since their earliest days, but Return to Cookie Mountain leaves little doubt that they're also a group who're firmly determined to push themselves to ever-greater creative heights. Return to Cookie Mountain is easily the group's best album so far, as well as being undoubtably one of the best albums of the year. |