Back in 1996 Wilco produced a doozy of an album called “Being There.” As a follow up to the band’s competent, but less than groundbreaking, alt-country debut, “Being There” was a massive leap forward that mixed delta blues, hazy acoustic numbers, Sonic Youth-like epic guitar squalls, and straight forward rockers. It all came off like a modern day “Exile On Main Street” and announced the arrival of America’s great new band. Wilco broke from their alt-country roots entirely on follow up “Summerteeth,” a druggy, experimental collection of psych-pop. If “Being There” was “Exile,” “Summerteeth” was “Pet Sounds.” Throughout the band’s development, their fan base grew and when it was announced that Wilco would release their fourth album, “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” the anticipation reached a fever pitch, especially since the band was dropped by Warner Brothers because the record was deemed to be too experimental and inaccessible by the suits. Of course, “YHF” went on to become one of the most critically acclaimed American recordings of the past forty years. Critics soon began referring to Wilco as the “American Radiohead,” and not without cause. Then Wilco released “A Ghost Is Born,” which was a step back from the vanguard that they were leading. There were still a few decent, challenging tracks on the record, but there were also many straightforward, no-frills numbers that failed to impress. What came next became a sort of musical flashpoint, and not in a good way. The band released the utterly underwhelming “Sky Blue Sky,” to a general reception of “meh.” “Sky Blue Sky” was rightly labeled “dad-rock” and I’ve since heard it used as a term of derision when referring to a mediocre recording by a previously great band, as in ‘this pile of shit is their “Sky Blue Sky” moment’. But this review isn’t about Wilco, it’s about the other “American Radiohead"; TV On The Radio. So why the hell am I talking about the rise and fall of Wilco? Well because TVOTR’s newest record “Nine Types Of Light” is dangerously close to their “Sky Blue Sky” moment, and most certainly their “A Ghost Is Born” moment.Like Wilco, TVOTR have made a career out of deftly melding disparate elements into a seamless and unique whole. Both bands have enjoyed wide audiences despite producing music brimming with experimentation, and have emerged as two of the most original and beloved musical voices of the last two decades. Yet presently the former has been reduced to banality and the latter sounds close behind.
So what happened? To begin with, “Nine Types Of Light” sounds incredibly underdeveloped. In interviews the band have said they wanted to move away from the layers of sound that characterizes much of the band’s past work and make a cleaner record than they previously had. Certainly they have accomplished that with “Light,” but in doing so they have reduced the stature of their sound. As Wheeler, who is known to occasionally weigh in here with her lacerating one-sentence reviews, bluntly put it, TVOTR used to "blow your fucking mind, and now it sounds like they’ve given up.” Maybe that’s a bit harsh, but I get what she is saying. Listen to their first single “Staring At The Sun,” and you will still get goosebumps, but listen to “Light,” and at best all you can do is appreciate it. It isn’t entirely horrible, and there are some well-written tracks, but it does nothing to inspire. There are no rousing anthems like “Province,” no grand protest marches like “Dry Drunk Emperor,” no blasted rockers like “Playhouse,” no primal ‘I’m going to fuck you harder than you have ever been fucked in your life’ jams like “Wolf Like Me,” or even just weird slow burners like “DLZ.” Instead it’s all a tastefully presented copy of a copy of a copy of TVOTR.
It would be easy to simply blame the lack of layers for what is an underwhelming listening experience, but that wouldn’t be entirely true. The biggest fault with “Light” isn’t just the omission of distorted walls of noise, it’s the omission of the band’s groove. Certainly the album has a groove, but it isn’t TVOTR’s groove. With the exception of “Will Do,” which is not surprisingly the first single from the record, nothing here moves bodies and minds like the material on “Dear Science” or “Return to Cookie Mountain.” In fact, it’s all rather forgettable.
This would be a let-down from any band that had previously produced something great, but coming from TVOTR it all seems somehow incredibly disheartening, even upsetting. Remember, this is the band that produced two of the most dynamic and thoughtful records of the Bush-era by blending righteous anger with dance-grooves more effectively than anyone since Fela Kuti. Now they have produced an album that could soundtrack a dentist’s office without raising an eyebrow. Recent interviews make it clear that they are more than aware that shit is still bleak, and that voting for a bumpersticker slogan hasn't improved much, but that insight and urgency is entirely missing from “Light.” Instead the band seems content turning in neo-soul love songs while Rome continues to burn.
In the end I am not going to begrudge a band for following their muse and doing what they want to do, and if TVOTR want to chill-out and make slow jams then that is their choice, but don’t expect me to be overly-thrilled about it and forget that just a few years ago this band made some of the most forward thinking music of their time. Hopefully they can rouse themselves once again before completely drifting off into the “Sky Blue Sky. “ If not, I’m sure there are plenty of clothing boutiques in LA that will gladly give the mellow sanitized groove of “Nine Types of Light” a spin.
"Will Do"
"Second Song"
"You"
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