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Everything Broad Ripple HomearrowRandom Ripplings Homearrow2006 09 22arrowColumn

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Converted from paper version of the Broad Ripple Gazette (v03n19)
Rick On The Records - by Rick Zeigler
posted: Sept. 22, 2006

Rick on the Records header

TV ON THE RADIO-RETURN TO COOKIE MOUNTAIN
Back near the beginning, when asked for a comparison to his sound, Elvis famously said, "I don't sound like nobody". TV On The Radio is one of the few bands today that could honestly give this same answer. On their second album, the five-piece from Brooklyn has both sharpened their song writing skills (3 of the 5 members are credited) and continued to experiment with the sounds that they layer upon them. One of the key elements here is the production work of Dave Sitek, the bands guitarist and sampler. Most songs start with a simple, often tribal-sounding drumbeat accompanied by the unique chant-sung vocals of Kip Malone and Tunde Adebimpe. These two elements faintly recall the work of Peter Gabriel at his height (Biko, Games People Play). But when the treated and/or sampled guitars and keys come in, the songs morph into TV On The Radio's own unique "wall-of-sound". The treatments are sometimes drone-like, sometimes spacey, but most often they simply provide a cascading background wash of chords and notes that underpin the ominous lyrics that frame most of the tunes. Even though every song contains multiple tracks of guitars or keys, there are rarely any notes, chords, or patterns that stand out as hooks (and there are certainly no solos). Yet these songs will lodge themselves in your head after only a few listens. Not every track works, as Blues From Down Here relies on a fairly static disco beat and little melody, but when tunes like Wolf Like Me or Province both rock hard and lull gently, you know you are in the presence of something special. David Bowie does guest on one song, but this show belongs solely to the band. Although only two albums into their career, TV On The Radio appears, like Radiohead (perhaps there is something in that word "radio"), to be one of the few bands desiring to push the boundaries of rock music forward rather than just simply recapitulate its past.

YO LA TENGO-I AM NOT AFRAID OF YOU AND I WILL BEAT YOUR ASS
Eleven full-length records into their career, Yo La Tengo have taken elements from every aspect of their previous output and combined them into one gorgeous, melody-packed variety-show of an album. Bookended by two excellent feedback-drenched rock jams, the group incorporates falsetto-voiced funk workouts (Mr. Tough), beauteous piano-led ballads (I Feel Like I'm Going Home), waltz-tempo laments (Sometimes I Don't Get You), fifties rock (Watch Out For Me Ronnie), and practically every other current from rock's history book into their current opus. You can hear the Cool Jerk keyboard hook on Point and Shoot and a snatch of White Stripe's melody on Black Flowers. You can reference the Byrds-like guitar of The Race Is On Again and the singer-songwriter guitar-piano interplay of Daphnia. Whatever the approach, the group makes their trademark soft-voiced vocal prowess completely appropriate to the material. The highlights for this listener are the opening and closing guitar workouts, recalling the finest moments from the albums Painful and I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One. Indeed, the eclecticism of the latter album is reflected here, but even more variety is packed within these grooves (or bits, as the case may be). At this stage of the game, most groups with Yo La Tengo's longevity find some comfortable niche which they then explore in ever-more nuanced ways. Hats off to the Hoboken trio for continuing to wander far and wide in their musical travels. Now, where's the prog-rock mini-opera?



Rick Zeigler, along with his wife, Jeanne, owns Indy CD and Vinyl at 806 Broad Ripple Avenue. Back in his musician days, his band opened for the likes of U2, XTC, Gang Of Four, The Pretenders, Los Lobos, and, um, Flock Of Seagulls, among others. You can read all of Rick's reviews at www.indycdandvinyl.com. Email your music questions and comments to rick@BroadRippleGazette.com




rick@broadripplegazette.com
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