Inside Music Album Guide - 10/09/08

Inside Music Album Guide
TV on the Radio score perfect, Plain White T’s struggle
By Stephen Mason

TV on the Radio – Dear Science (Interscope) 5 out of 5
With the swirling ambient synths, 80’s drumbeats, and falsetto funk grooves worthy of the almighty Prince, TV on the Radio’s Dear Science is a magnificent album. It works on a track-by-track basis, reeling in an eclectic mix of influences yet never faltering to sound uniquely like the band. These are indie rockers who aren’t afraid to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people, not self-conscious or self-deprecating enough to stay latched to an indie label. Whether it’s the neo soul of “Dancing Choose,” the minimalist “Crying” (that sounds like a distant cousin of “Kiss”), or the pulsing “Halfway Home,” TV on the Radio always sound focus, which is hard to do with a collection of songs that are simply that – a collection of songs that sound amazing.

Cold War Kids – Loyalty to Loyalty (Downtown) 4 out of 5
Loyalty to Loyalty will polarize critics and fans of Cold War Kids, as it isn’t as ambitious as their debut. But Cold War Kids are a band that’s confused, not exactly sure of where to go from where they were. So what’s the solution? Write what they know – confusion. Loyalty to Loyalty is a slow album, rarely jumping into pounding beats. The most “exciting” moments are the yell-fest of “Something is Not Right With Me” and the waltzing “I’ve Seen Enough,” though really its numbers like the jazzy “Against Privacy,” the deep, growling guitar riffs of “Mexican Dogs,” and the Barrett Strong-esque “Every Valley is Not a Lake” that make Loyalty to Loyalty the interesting album it is.

Plain White T’s – Big Bad World (Hollywood) 3 out of 5
For those who remember, Plain White T’s performed at 2007’s Barefoot on the Mall. Back then, they were just on the verge of breaking into the mainstream, and their single “Hey There Delilah” launched the band into new territories. It’s not strange, then, that Big Bad World is not so much an album as it is a quest for another hit. They’ve still got bland emo lyrics like “When you’re all alone/Stuck in the dark,” blah, blah, blah, and it renders them almost hopeless. Big Bad World isn’t a bad album, but it’s not good enough to be recognized by critics and not profound enough to win over any new fans. People who weren’t thrilled by their debut won’t hear anything to change their mind, as the album is more restrained than others.

Kings of Leon – Only By the Night (RCA) 3 out of 5
The band crowned as “the Southern Strokes” fights back with a new album, and yet again, an almost new sound. KOL are desperate to make it big in the US, as they’ve somehow already won over the UK. They can’t figure out why this has happened, but it’s not all that hard to imagine. Songs like “Crawl” feature interesting Who or Zeppelin-like riffs, but for a band that wants to try out that sound, they’ve got to get with the blues. How else do you think bands like the Black Keys, the White Stripes, and the Raconteurs became successful? Simple. Dan Auerbach and Jack White get the blues. KOL haven’t traced it back that far, and as a result they wind up being an alternative to those who are dismayed by the breakup of Wolfmother.