Nine Types of Light

With a trio of groundbreaking songwriters and a record store clerk's knowledge of music, New York mad scientists TV On The Radio have been crafting schizophrenic examples of modern indie rock for close to ten years now. After a two-year sabbatical that included solo projects from guitarist Kyp Malone (Rain Machine), and studio whiz Dave Sitek (Maximum Balloon) the band's fourth LP Nine Types of Light manages to revitalize the creative spirit that had them in the good graces of critics for the better part of a decade. Regrettably, the album's flow fails to match the momentum of 2008's post-everything romp Dear Science, though the jarring closer "Caffeinated Consciousness" offers some of the collective's most visceral songwriting to date. Most of the ten songs explore TVOTR's dreamy, contemplative side, with "Second Song" and "Will Do" the strongest showings. Per usual, the band tends to switch directions on a dime, with plenty of impromptu falsetto Maurice Gibb impersonations from Malone and icy post-punk keyboards from Sitek. Their best work this is not, though it is undeniably some of the best post-Radiohead indie-prog going today. Sadly, Nine Types of Light is also the last TV on the Radio record to feature the work of bassist Gerard Smith, who died of lung cancer two days after its release.