TV On The Radio New Cannonball Blues

I wasn't 21 when Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes was released, which was a bummer. In fact, much like today, I was not into the indie rock scene. Instead, I found myself counting down the days until Fly Or Die was hitting the Internet.

But on a nice spring day in 2004, I had my window open in my college apartment bedroom, and it seemed like the perfect day for something new and real chill. TV On The Radio's "Staring at the Sun" caught my eye, so I hit play. The soothing opening "ooh" and the impressive range of frontman Tunde Adebimpe (yes I can tell the difference between Tunde and Kyp) was immediately noticeable. And then the song took on a dance beat around 2:45 in. All of this has past, and almost a decade since their birth, their fourth studio album, Nine Types of Light, is close to flawless. The album drops April 12, but Indie Shuffle got a chance to preview it here, and recently featured "Will Do" as Song of the Day.

Album opener "Second Song" sets the perfect tone for the head nodding to begin. 1:32 in, and fans will catch themselves jamming to what sounds like a track right off of a Scissor Sisters LP; musically inclined listeners will be saddened to know that it consumes the song, but the brass section at the end makes up for it. "Killer Crane" is made of the guts that could cheer even its most depressing listener -- a feeling and state of mind that is not found in a lot of modern music, classical aside.

Standout tracks are "New Cannonball Blues" and "No Future Shock," but the entire album has mass appeal for fans of various musical genres. Dave Sitek, a veteran of production, guitar, drums, and keys, has managed to give these songs a warm yet detached sound at the same time.

After several listens, it's pleasing to know that the band took two and a half years to cook up this outstanding material. I feel enticed to purchase one of the various deluxe editions floating around, and encourage you to do the same.