Black Rock Alive and Well with TVOR

By Layla Sola
The AmNews

TV On the Radio, is a Williamsburg band preparing of departure. Their sophomore, album, “Return to Cookie Mountain,” is a collage of (primarily), harmonious contradictions. Afropunk hipster's in plaid, all but one member of this five-piece, rock ensemble are Black (on the outside). TVOR crushes racial stereotypes and musical prototypes with their electro-washed, alternative, rock experiment that’s quite often good.

Sampling, layering and multi-syncing lend an electro-industrial sound to TVOR’s palate of rock. Tracks like the artful melodica, “Blues Down Here,” and “Let the Devil In,” are refreshingly unpredictable in their musical approach, meshing techno-inspired, electro samples over acoustic sounds and rock and staples. Occasionally, the group over-embellishes, resulting in cacophonous noise reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard. Penchant to playing with different pitches and vocal harmonies, TVOR has undoubtedly been influenced by British rock, which may be why David Bowie is such a huge fan and even lends his pipes on “Providence,” a slowly crooned piece about America.

While TVOR’s signature style may be fusion, the influence of rock on the group is obvious. “Wolf Like Me,” beats with the insatiable lust of an indie, rock classic and is instantly likeable. Its medley of gyrating drum beats, wicked guitar and an intense, vocal rush provokes a salacious ebullience guaranteed to extirpate the rebel within.

Lyrically, TVOR is leagues ahead of established rock bands. At times clever and cute, and at others, unsettling and desperate, the verses are sensual, intelligent and drenched in an immutable temperament of romantic realism, honest and surreal as the ocean.

"Return to Cookie Mountain" does suffer from an ineluctable melancholy that blankets the listener in an ethereal and dark atmosphere. There is a haunting sensuality, a supreme desolateness about TVOR’s songs, with which it is easy to identify. Like the quintessential mutineer boy band of the 1980’s, the Clash, TVOR is desperate for something, deep inside, and it’s more than just fame and money.