I first saw TV On The Radio on BBC2 Later doing Dancing Choose, and it stood out from everything else on the show, loud exciting, an almost punk-electronic vibe, so I went out and bought it. I've barely listened to it since, suggesting I wasn't too taken with the rest of the album.
Opening with Halfway House, and a Ramones style chant intro, it quickly settles into a slow, full sounding song, a good opening number, leading to a more funky and barer sounding Prince-like) song, Crying, then the aforementioned Dancing Choose - in your face, furious, with its shouty verses and gentler sung choruses.
But the quality drops from there - Stork & Owl is a dreary ballad, Golden Age is funkier, but ordinary, while Family Tree is just schmaltzy and excruciating.
Red Dress is brighter and much more listenable and dancy, but Love Dog, just dull. Shout Me Out is a bit more bouncy, but still unremarkable, similarly DLZ. The final track, Lover's Day, brings the disappointment to an end, an overblown piece of tedium.
2* - Very disappointing. One great track, a couple of pleasant ones, but little else. Destined for the upstairs drawer, and only narrowly escaped the one-star trip to the charity shop.
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