Dear Science [Slipcase] (CD - 2008)

TV on the Radio: Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, synthesizer, bass instrument); Tunde Adebimpe (vocals); Jaleel Bunton (guitars, Fender Rhodes piano, organ, synthesizer, bass instrument, drums, programming); David Andrew Sitek (guitars, synthesizer, bass instrument, programming, sampler); Gerard A. Smith (Fender Rhodes piano, organ, synthesizer, bass instrument, sampler).

Personnel: Katrina Ford (vocals, background vocals); Eleanore Everdell (vocals); Claudia Chopek, Janis Shen (violin); Lara Hicks (viola); Eleanor Norton (cello); Martin Perna (flute); Matana Roberts (clarinet, alto saxophone); Stuart Bogie (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Colin Stetson (saxophone, baritone saxophone); Eric Biondo (trumpet); Aaron Johnson (trombone); David Bergander (drums); Yoshi Takamasa (congas, claves, shaker, percussion, bells).

Audio Mixers: David Andrew Sitek; Matty Green.

Arrangers: David Andrew Sitek; Kyp Malone; Claudia Chopek; Stuart Bogie; Perry Serpa; Janis Shen; Jaleel Bunton.

Somewhere between highbrow art rock and the more familiar, accessible sounds of indie and post-punk, TV On the Radio had already positioned themselves, over the course of their first two albums, as one of the better bands of the early 21st century. DEAR SCIENCE, the group's third disc, is a quantum leap forward as it refines the swirling experimentalism of its predecessor, RETURN TO COOKIE MOUNTAIN, and applies it to a batch of songs that are hook-filled and inspired.

DEAR SCIENCE is distinguished overall by more danceable rhythms, as on the funky parable "Golden Age" and the driving "Red Dress" (which features members of Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra). Prince and Fela Kuti may be exerting more of an influence, but TVOTR still haven't relinquished their devotion to Brian Eno and Joy Division: dark corners and layered ambient dimensions give these songs an endless, labyrinthine feel. A stunning achievement, DEAR SCIENCE is one of the year's best albums, and is also a blueprint for the future of rock music.

With lyrics and vocals that are just as ambitious and attention-getting as the music surrounding them, TV on the Radio have always had a lot going on in their music. Indeed, Return to Cookie Mountain was so elaborate that topping it would be difficult, so on Dear Science, (yes, the comma is intentional) the band channels its focus into lean, nimble songs with more structure and polish -- and more focus on Tunde Adepimbe's and Kyp Malone's vocals -- than any of TV on the Radio's previous work. This immediacy and crystalline clarity take some getting used to, especially compared to Cookie Mountain's lavish yet organic sound: "Family Tree"'s strings, pianos, and plainly worded vulnerability make it one of the band's most accessible songs, but it doesn't feel like anything was sacrificed to make it so anthemic. That feeling only deepens on the self-evidently sexy "Red Dress," which uses Antibalas' vibrant brass and taut guitars to show-stopping effect.

As Dear Science, unfolds, it becomes clear that it isn't so much a radical change for TV on the Radio as it is a slight but significant shift in approach. "Stork and Owl," an inspired mix of hypnotically looping samples and flowing, real-time soulfulness, and "Love Dog," which boasts some of Adepimbe's most affecting singing since "Staring at the Sun," could have fit easily on earlier albums with a few sonic tweaks. And, like Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes and Return to Cookie Mountain, Dear Science, begins with an epic statement of purpose -- although "Halfway Home" is as sleek as it is grand, sprinting towards its end with streaking guitars -- and ends in an embrace with "Lover's Day," a duet with Celebration's Katrina Ford that turns "I wanna break your back" from a threat to a come-on. Tackling love and war, often within the same song, is all in a day's work for TV on the Radio. However, the band's take on these themes is subtly but notably more optimistic here, as though lightening their sound lightened their mood as well. "DLZ" broods over "the long-winded blues of the never," but on the brilliantly funky "Golden Age," Adepimbe sings "there's a golden age coming 'round" without a trace of irony. Malone's "Crying" calls out the wrongs of the world but ends up just as hopeful as it is angry, while the pun in "Dancing Choose"'s title is pointed enough that the song almost doesn't need to prove that dancing on your troubles is powerfully therapeutic as thoroughly as it does, but that's just another example of this album's rare balance between craft and passion. That comma at the title's end seems naggingly open-ended at first, but it's actually a perfect fit for Dear Science,'s openness to possibilities and positivity. ~ Heather Phares minimize