TV on the Radio - Seeds

TV on the Radio

Seeds

18 November 2014

Harvest

 

3.5 stars out of 5

 

 

The fifth full-length by TV on the Radio¸ Seeds, is among their most direct work, featuring very little of the structural experimentation that made them critical darlings a decade ago. Just over a week after their last LP, 2011’s Nine Types of Light, the band lost bassist Gerard Smith to lung cancer. Drummer Jaleel Bunton has switched to bass for live performances, although he plays both bass and drums on the new record. TVotR have always displayed a naked emotionalism in their music, but Seeds finds them at their most vulnerable, perhaps in part due to collective mourning for Smith. This vulnerability, combined with the directness of the new compositions, could lead to a wider audience for the band among the mainstream, although the same directness may result in many of their older fans losing interest.

 

One of the album’s highlights is “Happy Idiot,” a sharp, three-minute ditty that recalls the New Romantic scene of the early ‘80s. It’s got all the qualities of a hit single—in England, thirty years ago. “Test Pilot” is a marriage of a melancholy Cocteau Twins-ish chorus with an odd Lisa Loeb-ian verse. (Face it, any reference to Lisa Loeb, intentional or un-, is pretty freakin’ odd.) Much of the album is uneven—for every strong track, like “Quartz” or “Ride,” there’s a weak one, like “Careful You” or “Right Now.” Unfortunately, there are more weak or middling tracks on Seeds than there are strong ones, and though “middling” for TVotR is the equivalent of “pretty good” for most other bands, this album is probably going to be a little disappointing for long-time fans.

 

reviewed by Richard Krueger