Evolve Or Be Extinct

Artist: Wiley
Album: Evolve Or Be Extinct
Release Date: 19/1/2012

A competent fusion of both Wiley's madness and brilliance

Over the course of his last three albums, Wiley has revealed many boundary pushing guises that reside in his musical arsenal. There's the ice- cold gangsta grime MC of old, the man who can write potentially huge club bangers, and the joker who, at any given time, doesn't seem to take himself seriously at all. These are all pretty revolutionary pinpoints in UK grime in recent times, a genre that has always been pretty stagnant and set in its hard- as- fuck, stone cold approach. It follows that Wiley is the most overground but cool MC- he's the most talented.

Wiley, aka Richard Cowie, certainly realises that his "different" approach is a winning formula almost totally across the spectrum of music fans, and this is not forgotten on "Evolve Or Be Extinct." As ever, there are flashes of sincere brilliance here, for example Wiley's unstoppable flow on the title track, in- your- face lyricism and squelching, bubbling synths of "Scar" and the dark, paranoid and chiming synths on "Ya Win Some Ya Lose Some." "Boom Blast" is the kind of club banger Wiley has come to master, only this time taking a more minimalistic approach, with dark, low- rumbling basslines and bright flashes of computer- induced euphoria.

Then the boundary pushing starts, and in equal measure it's bizarrely bonkers and rather hilariously brilliant at the same time. "Can I Have A Taxi Please?" sees Cowie adopting the voices of various stereotypes and indulging in hilarious rants from each character. "Customs" is an ambiguous but well- written roleplay between Wiley and an airport police officer about the cons of smoking weed before going on a flight.

All the faces of Wiley- the brilliant, the mad king, the joker- make an appearance here, and all of them find themselves entirely comfortable in their own environment. It's the kind of thing that in UK grime, only Cowie could get away with, but that in itself is testament to the fact that Wiley is at the top of his game.

Download: 1) Evolve Or Be Extinct, 2) Ya Win Some Ya Lose Some, 3) Can I Have A Taxi Please?
For fans of: Skepta, JME, Dizzee Rascal

8/10

Baby

Artist: Tribes
Album: Baby
Release Date: 13/1/2012

Scruffy Camdennites' debut announces the arrival of a hugely anthemic new dawn for British guitar music

Some of the most prominent minds in music have recently declared that proper British, guitar- orientated, fist- pumping and stadium roar- along guitar music is in total demise, and sometimes it seems like it's hard to call their bluff. Bands like Foals and Wild Beasts, however wonderful, since 2008 have pulled guitar music in all kinds of angular directions. Manic Street Preachers, British Sea Power and of course The Arctic Monkeys are still about and making some of the most titanic rock powerhouses of the century, but there hasn't been a British rally call to rock, like "Up The Bracket" or "Whatever People Say I am..." since, well, those records themselves.

In 2012 however, Tribes present British rock music with a challenge to its current unfortunate status and a marvellous one at that. Appearing out of Camden in late 2010 in super tight, ripped- at- the- knees jeans, leather jackets and reeking of pure rock 'n' roll sweat, they LOOKED like the real deal. Early versions of "Whenever" and "Nightdriving" certainly hinted at potential to write both pulverising and heartfelt anthems. Expectations for the band's full- length debut "Baby" were most certainly high, and the range of brilliant, near- bonafide anthems on offer here only builds on the early promises of the band's sound.

"Whenever" is a rip- roaring opener, propelled by a musical driving force and riff that wouldnt seem out of place on Pixies' debut "Surfer Rosa." "We Were Children" follows it up, starting off like a younger and more stoned cousin of Weezer's "My Name Is Jonas." It then erupts into a fest of pounding drums and a climatic shout- a- long that suggests this song could very well become the band's defining live moment.

"Sappho" rumbles along with a glammy Suede- esque stomp and lyrics that deal with questionning the existence of God and spiritual reassurance, as frontman Johnny Lloyd wonders "How do you tell a child that there's no God up in the sky?". He's at it again on "Nightdriving", which seems to have grabbed a pair of stadium sized balls since first emerging as an acoustic demo, its enormous chorus amped up with epicly grundgy guitars as Lloyd asks "What use is God if you can't see him?"."Along or With Friends" is a twanging, stomping, country- inflected anthem that gets more bombastic  as it progresses, becoming the kind of slow- burning anthem that the Gallagher brothers are probably wishing they'd written for "What's The Story, Morning Glory?".

Consistently powerful, emotive and with endearingly enormous choruses to boot, it's not unreasonable to see "Baby" as the dawn of a new assault launched by British guitar music. It rolls with just as influence from the cock- surity of Brit- pop as it does from that of heartfelt grundge from across the pond, and it's a wholly bombastic marriage of sounds. "Baby" has set the bar for British rock 'n' roll in 2012, and it'll be pretty hard to beat.

Download: 1) We Were Children, 2) When My Day Comes, 3) Sappho
For Fans of: Girls, Oasis, Pixies

8/10

Glowing Mouth

Artist: Milagres
Album: Glowing Mouth
Release Date: 15/1/2012

Milagres' debut presents pastures of sparse beauty and texture

Milagres' debut arrives amidst a sudden realisation from bloggers and music fans that "Glowing Mouth" was one of the most underrated songs of last year. Their debut full- length of the same title shows extensive mining of the territories of subtle beauty and pensive epicness. Coming on like Grizzly Bear fed through a backdrop of the piano synth- fuzz recently adopted by Coldplay, it's quietly grandiose, but it's the more intricate moments here, such as the gorgeous "Moon On the Sea's Gate" that are the real gems.

And just for reference:

Download: Moon On The Sea's Gate
For Fans of: Grizzly Bear, Doves, TV On The Radio

7/10

Black Light

Artist: Diagrams
Album: Black Light
Release Date: 13/1/2012

Former Tunng man sounds pleasantly fresh and interesting on debut solo album

Former Tunng man Sam Genders has escaped from the increasingly dour folk- tronica meandering of his band has struck out with an interestingly pleasant debut. Here are 9 angular pop songs, occasionally encompassing jazz, folk, world, electro and math- rock tendencies that congeal for an intriguing listen. Lyrically it's more than below par, but as the spectral, lo- fi haze of opener "Ghost Lit" or the cutesy, carefree electro ditty that is the title track prove, the music is just about enough to cast the sub- sufficient lyricism out of your mind for a while.

Download: Ghost Lit
For Fans of: Stereolab, Tunng

6/10

Given To The Wild

Artist: The Maccabees
Album: Given To The Wild
Release Date: 6/1/2012

The London romantics mature and venture into an expansive world that sees them produce their most brilliant songwriting yet

It's nice to watch bands grow and mature, and wonderfully the UK has become reputable of late for delivering the goods on many bands' critical third albums. 2011 saw Bombay Bicycle Club, The Horrors and Wild Beasts slip into sounds and musical territories that saw them at both their most evolved and most comfortable. It's a fact that went on to make all of those records some of the most acclaimed of the year, and due to the fact that The Maccabees' third offering "Given To The Wild" sees the same kind of glorious progression it's likely that they will see the same level of long- awaited appreciation finally reach them.

"Given To the Wild" sees a number of marked advancements in The Maccabees' sound and mentality. Firstly, the sonic sojourns that they travel here suggest they've been listening to more of Wild Beasts and Sigur Ros than Young Knives. Orlando Weeks' songwriting still reclines in heartfelt matters, but this time for other reasons than just tough teenage break- ups, approaching his lyricism (and probably life in general) with a more "family matters" mentality and is more concerned with what the big wide world has to throw at him. The musicianship is also arguably the best it's ever been, spawned out of a clear homage to their influences.

"Feel To Follow" starts off like a much more sparse and much less sexed- up version of Wild Beasts' "Bed Of Nails" before exploding into a colourful rush of kaleidoscopic post- rock guitars and expansive, spacious atmospherics. The "less is more" technique is worked to wondrous effect on "Glimmer", a gorgeous, tranquil ditty in which brothers Hugo and Felix White's chiming guitar playing carries the song through with minimalistic brass in the background. The song on which the band pull together all their newly found creative elegance in the best possible style is "Forever I've Known". It starts off with pensive, soft- rock atmospherics before becoming a spritely fest of "Two Dancers"- era Wild Beasts duel tremolo picking between the White brothers and pounding drums as Weeks sings in a world- weary fashion "Forever I've Known/ Nothing stays forever." "Heave" follows it up sounding like it wouldn't sound out of place on Foals' "Total Life Forever" with its speedy, intricate picking, echoing atmospherics and near- inhuman drumming from Sam Doyle.

There are still moments here that you could attribute to The Maccabees earlier work. "Pelican"'s stop- start juddering is the closest they come to their typical indie fare of yesteryear but with the levels of maturity cranked up, and "Ayla" brings rising walls of brass to bear as were prominent on 2009's "Wall Of Arms." Remarkably however, The Maccabees slip into their new sound and skin with terrific ease, so that "Given To the Wild" never feels fake or contrived. Subtle but also overbearing, it's a coming of age record, and one that fully deserves your time and attention.

Download: 1) Forever I've Known, 2) Glimmer, 3) Pelican
For Fans of: Wild Beasts, Foals, Sigur Ros

9/10

Albums of 2011, Vol 2

Hello again,

Sorry this post is so late, I planned to have it up almost two weeks ago, but I have found myself with no spare time. Anyway, here it is; my top 10 albums of 2011. Once again, feel free to present your thoughts and feelings on the albums/ ordering in this list if you wish in the comment box below. You will notice that so far in the list, there have been some quite bad omissions on my part. For example, fantastic albums by Wire, Kurt Vile and Oneohtrix Point Never. You'll also notice that they don't appear in the list below. This is because I didn't hear them until too late in context of this list, or as is the case with the Wire record, I actually didn't like it for the majority of this year and only really just discovered what was so wonderful about it. Even so, I wouldn't make any changes to this list. In my mind, all these records are worthy of their place in the top 10. I hope you agree with me on at least some of them. Enjoy.

10. Suuns- Zeroes QC
In 2010, Suuns burst onto the scene with a sinister but undeniably brilliant and darkly sexy electro- funk disco bop by the name of "Arena" and the EP of the same name. All the musicianship and mind for adventure and sonic creativity was transfered across to the band's rather spectacular debut, "Zeroes QC" released in January 2011. At times adopting the spacious, weird and minimalistic electro pop of mysterious masterminds Clinic, at others taking a rather full- throttle groove in the vein of a more spaced- out Queens of the Stone Age, Suuns mined the very outer reaches of the solar system for influence and soundscapes, and returned with some absolute gold. If, by any chance, you're planning on travelling to a different galaxy any time soon, then make sure this is your soundtrack.

Key track: "Pie IX"

9. Esben And The Witch- Violet Cries
Mysterious, ethereal and enchantingly dark and terrifyingly inpenetrable, Brighton trio Esben And The Witch's haunting debut was perhaps the most underrated album of 2011. Building itself around electrifying and unbreakable walls of synth noise and hiss as well as scattering guitar lines and bewitching melodies, EATW approached a very modern sound in a peculiarly medieval fashion, and with it captured all the dark and disgustingly beautiful spoils that the middle ages had to offer. It was both eccentric and modern, and completely idiosyncratic. Initially it was hard to sink your teeth into, but if you were to stick at it for a bit then it would reveal itself as one of the most magical beasts to emerge from the murky depths of January 2011.

Key Track: Light Streams

8. Iceage- New Brigade
If there was one band intent on bringing the disjointed and brilliantly revolutionary spirit and sound of original post- punk back to become the new face of ugly in 2011, who would have thought it would have come from these four Danish teenagers? Bringing forth the sounds of early Wire, DNA and the angular judderiness of Joy Division, their violent but also brilliantly well- formed brand of noise not only seemed to re- vitalise a sound that had long been seemingly forgotten by bands who had twisted the post- punk sound into some ugly form of their own, but also possessed a fantastic sense of melody. At it's heart, "New brigade" was an album that harked back to the past in the most endearing way but was it's own fresh beast and take on the sound all the same.They're not quite a new version of The Fall, but on the strength of this in the future they more than well could be.

Key Track: You're Blessed

7. John Maus- We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves
Long- time Ariel pink affiliate and University professor John Maus proved that he isn't just a genius in the lecture room on his sophomore third album "We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves." With the '80s synth revival seeming to have died down since it's boost of energy from chillwave in 2009, Maus seemed intent on taking us back to the REAL, decadent '80s synth- pop sound and era, but also with a mind cast firmly in the future. Awash with layers of genius synth lines, bizarre imagery and stargazing electronics as well as often hilariously brilliant songwriting, from the likes of the tranquil and pensively jubilant piano ballad of "Hey Moon" through the plodding of marvelous synth- riff on "Cop Killer", "We Must..." reeked of cheese but in the most loveable and forward- thinking way. So many records in 2011 proved that looking to the past can sometimes be the best way to make something sound fresh and original, but Maus showcased it better than most.

Key Track: Cop Killer

6. The Horrors- Skying
Perhaps the Horrors' most wonderful trait is their ambition. The ethos that they want to change with every album and venture into new sonic pastures proved to define itself this year with their astounding third album "Skying." Whereas 2009's monumental "Primary Colours" showcased a clear love of Joy Division and My Bloody Valentine, "Skying" was once again a sum of it's parts but also a record that only the Horrors' could have made. Sounding like the product of a supergroup featuring members of Psycadelic Furs, Suede and funk purveyors The Politicians, it was certainly not an album you could label with "pastiche". "Still Life" was a glorious uplifting slice of sky- kissing euphoria and as the lead off single proved a wonderful taster of what was to come. Wonderfully enchanting soundscapes prpelled by stuttering guitar effects and enormous synth riffs as well as a newly openly percussive element, "Skying" saw The Horrors find a sound that finally sounded like it SHOULD be theirs. Never before had they sounded so content with the music they were making, or comfortable within their songs, and the exapnsiveness gave them more room to manouver and operate in new spaces and confines. Frontman Faris Badwan has said that nobody knows what The Horrors will sound like for sure until they release their next album, and as much as I can't wait to hear what it sounds like, I wouldn't half mind if they stuck with the glorious pop formula that made "Skying" their best album yet.

Key Track: Still Life

5. The War On Drugs- Slave Ambient
Having not released an album since 2007's "Wagonwheel Blues" and with Kurt Vile garnering most of the attention of scuzzy American throwback singer- songwriters, "Slave Ambient" was always going to be a huge statement from Adam Granduciel and Co. And boy, what a statement it was. With Glorious and lush nods to Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan with a  distinctly modern take on their heartfelt grandiosity smothered in a lo- fi electronic haze, they produced perhaps some of the most uplifting and well- crafted songs of the year, especially in the shape of songs like the wonderful glacial assault of "Come To The City" and epic feeling of progression and lovelorn lyricism behind "Your Love Is Calling My Name". Even though "Smoke Ring For My Halo" was Kurt Vile's defining opus so far, "Slave Ambient" is good enough to make him wonder why he ever left The War On Drugs in the first place.

Key Track: Your Love Is Calling My Name

4. WU LYF- Go Tell Fire To The Mountain
Since revealing to the world that they were actually just four rather casual 20- year- olds from Manchester with an eye for strange artwork and a loudly voiced dislike for the press, WU LYF proceeded to proclaim that the UK music scene was entirely dead. It sounds like a big claim for a band so young and who until very recently seemed hidden in a shroud of pretention, but on "Go Tell Fire To The Mountain" WU LYF proved that they really were a band capable of re- igniting the flame in superb fashion. Original, expansive and extremely talented, the sound they made, a mish- mash of furious tribal drumbeats and off- kilter rhythms with post- rock- esque echoing and shimmering guitar riffs and glacial, gliding organ strokes from frontman Ellery Roberts ( also possessor of THAT bewildering vocal rasp), they were quite literally unlike any band to have emerged from the UK since Mogwai at least 10 years earlier. With all the brilliance that accompanied their extravagant sound, it's not hard to imagine many more bands impersonating WU LYF in 2012, and even seeing them become the new face of cool. The only thing is, only one band will ever be as good at what they do as they are... and that's WU LYF themselves.

Key Track: We Bros

3. Battles- Gloss Drop
""Gloss Drop" is not only an album that confirms that Battles are one of the most musically talented bands out there at the moment, but it's also a full- blown and upbeat showcase of the fact that they can push that talent in pretty much any direction they want and still make it all click and fall together in an amazing, colourful and creative mesh. By rights, this album should be your undoubted soundtrack to all your happy moments in 2011."

Key Track: Wall Street

2. Wild Beasts- Smother
"The sense of loss is kept throughout, most notably in the tear- jerkingly sad "Deeper," it's mournful tone and the vulnerability of Tom Fleming's vocals bringing that quivering sense of loss to the forefront in the most heart- clenching fashion. Some of the musical playfulness of "Two Dancers" is present and correct here still. "Bed of Nails" carries a Caribou- esque electronic rattle. "Reach a bit further" is a brilliantly percussive, almost dance-able offering, whilst the more subtle "Loop The Loop" wouldn't have been too far out of place on the second half of "Two Dancers."
Wild Beasts have created a masterpiece. In a way, it feels like the album they were always supposed to make. All the playfulness and eccentricity of their previous works have lead to what "Smother" is; A stunningly beautiful, near- perfect and tragic journal of when things go wrong."

Key Track: Plaything

 

1. Radiohead- The King Of Limbs
"The King Of limbs" is a masterpiece. When it's exploratory it's cold and dark, unnerving even. But all the while it's enticing and fervent. When the band stick to the conventional it just serves as a reminder of the Radiohead who can be comforting as well as frightening. At only 8 tracks long, it should leave you a little bit more wanting. But then, given the intelligence and beauty of this record, it should be more than enough for now."

Key Track: Little By Little

Here's to hoping we get just as much brilliant music out of 2012,  

Cheers,

Jack

Albums of 2011, Vol 1

Greetings!

And so we come to it at last, The Riviera World's top 20 albums of 2011. First things first, I'd like to apologise for this being so late. The last few weeks have been an incredibly busy period for me, and so I haven't found the time until now to post this.

Secondly, some of the records mentioned on the list you'll find that I didn't review. This is either because A) I came across them too late and it sort of felt like the time had passed, or B) I simply haven't had time to review them. Nevertheless, I can asure you wholeheartedly that I have a very fixed idea in my head of how good these albums are and where they deserve to be in my list.

This was by no means an easy process, and was in fact seemingly infinitely time consuming. It's taken me weeks of listening and sorting and deciding to accumulate a list of the top 20 releases that have really won over my heart this year. So many different things make an album that, scores aside, deciding on where to place an album on the list was even more laborious, and on a number of occasions I would find myself quite stressed trying to make up my mind. But in the end I think I've come up with a list that most certainly is relevant to me and I'm happy with, but also one that hopefully is justified in your own mind. So here is the first part of the list, albums 20- 11.

20. The Field- Looping State Of Mind

Swedish dance outfit The Field take a great risk with the music they make. Both organic and patiently euphoric at the same time, it's music that takes time and build slowly into the lush pastures and soundscapes that it eventually conjures. "Looping State Of Mind" was no different. With every song breaching the 7 minute mark and built around repetitive and reverberating loops, at first it was hard to pinpoint exactly what was so good about it. But as you listen to it more thoroughly, the amount of depth and texture poured into this record becomes more apparent, and it begins to grow on the mind just how wonderfully crafted this piece of work is, not to mention the beautiful, often melancholic melodies, most notably on slow- burner "Then It's White." It's a record that needs time to grow, but one that is beautifully rewarding once it has.

19. Real Estate- Days

Slackerisms and the influence of '90s american indie rock are becoming more and more prevelant in today's indie scene, even on these shores in the UK. Few bands manage to capture the laid- back, lo- fi vibe but still managing a great sense of grandiosity as Real Estate do on "Days" however. The band's second album is more beefed- up than the first. It's more robust and has more texture, whilst still being delicately tuneful and happily hazy and wonderfully catchy in places. Songs like "Out of Tune" and the high- speed "It's real" showed that the band still maintained their wonderful ear for melody filtered through Smiths- esque picking and quietly driving drums, whilst "Green Aisles" saw them take up a new and more mature branch of story telling and lyricism. A clear and wonderful progression on from their debut.

18. Unknown Mortal Orchestra- Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Appearing out of New Zealand in a flurry of pills and a catchy soul- funk throwback called "How Can U Love Me?", Ruben Neil & Co. 's self- titled debut was a deliciously groovy serving of acid fried funk and rock that was an exercising in modern eclecticism just as much as it was in eccentricity. The lo- fi production and crackling haze was reminiscent of bedroom production masters Ariel Pink and Ernest Greene, but the music itself seemed to hark back to a time where psycadelia was much more organic but just as mind- bending, bringing to mind the likes of a more frazzled and stoned David Bowie and Talking Heads. It put an indebted but authentic and original face on pop music in 2011.

17. Panda Bear- Tomboy

Animal Collective have never been a band to rest on their laurels or dabble in simplicity for that matter, and mastermind Panda Bear's (real name Noah Lennox) music certainly takes throws those two things out the window even further. "Tomboy" was a kaleidoscopic mish- mash of psycadelic swirls and wooshes, beeps and clicks and a strange dislike for tempo. It may have been mind- melting, but beneath all the keyboard and computer virtuosity lay a fantastic sense of melody, with songs like "Slow Motion" and "Last Night At the jetty" showcasing all the brilliant pop capabilities of his band.

16. SBTRKT- SBTRKT

2011 was perhaps the most prominent year for a lot of London dance producers who went overboard (Actress, Zomby etc.) but the one man who undoubtedly won over most hearts this year was SBTRKT aka Aaron Jerome, and that newly found popularity was largely down to his full- length self- titled debut. Not particularly difficult but not overly accessible either, it held the middle ground and showed that Jerome was a master of computer- synth wizardry and production as well as great melodies, made more epic and catchy by collaborator Sampha's soulful croon. From the kaliedoscopic rush of "Sanctuary" to the minimal euphoria of "Pharoahs", it was an album to both dance your life away to and lose yourself in.

15. Mastodon- The Hunter

Ever since 2009's "Crack the Skye" Mastodon's path into a more accessible sound has left many alienated but also won over many others. "The Hunter" was the Atlanta, Georgia quartet's most accessible, sprawlingly expansive and emotional record to date. The title was inspired by the death of Guitarist Brent Hinds' brother, and what ensued was an album of variety and complex and incredible interplay rarely heard on metal records today. At times crushingly heavy and reminiscent of old Mastodon ("Black Tongue", "Spectrelight"), emotional ("The Hunter"), and at others startleingly bizarre ("Creature Lives") it was an album which saw Mastodon spread the entire territory held by their influences and turn it into something different yet undeniably Mastodon. They also managed to conjure up one of the songs of the year in the stonking and groovy southern- metal stomp of "Curl Of The Burl".

14. Cornershop Ft. Bubbley kaur- Cornershop and the Double O Groove Of

Remember "Brimful Of Asher"? If you haven't yet heard "...The Double O Groove Of" then be ready to cast any preconceptions based on that song out of your mind. Collaborating with Birmingham based singer Bubbley Kaur, the band recorded an electronic but wonderfully funky and well- crafted album of upbeat Asian psych- pop. Infectious and sticking true to it's Indian roots, it was one of the most danceable and happy albums of this year, a surefire way to put a light- hearted mindset on all the problems that society encountered this year.

13. Gnod- InGnodWeTrust

With WU LYF being the Manchester band gathering the largest proportion of hype this year, mysterious psycadelic four- piece Gnod were criminally overlooked. In terms of "InGnodWeTrust", there is no other way to describe the sound of this band than "What the fuck?". Two tracks long and clocking in at a monstrous 33 minutes, "InGnodWeTrust" was terrifying but wonderfully electrifyingly, despite generally being slow- building and, on first listen, hard to sink your teeth into. What inspired them to make the gloriously righteous racket they do, I have no idea, but rest assured it was one of the most excitingly creative things I heard all year.

12. Bon Iver- Bon Iver

Following up an album as critically acclaimed, emotional and spectacular as "For Emma, Forever Ago" was never going to be easy, but Vernon, back at his day job after prominantly appearing in various places on Kanye West's 2010 opus "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy", showed that him and his band still had plenty of emotion and wonderful musicianship left to show off. This time more focused on the musical aspect and with lyrics centreing around home, "Bon Iver" proved to be more powerful, epic and musically stirring that anything vernon had put his name to before. Swarmed in gorgeous melodies and beautiful, swirling symphonies and harmonies, it was wonderfully constructed and organically enchanting. The record was proof that, no matter how beautiful Vernon makes a piece of work, you should never doubt that he's got it in him again.

11. TV On The Radio- Nine Types Of Light

Up until the release of 2008's "Dear Science" TV On The Radio were perhaps the indie world's most underrated. "Nine Types of Light" kept all the old charms at heart; it was full to the brim with funky grooves, impeccably tight musicianship, political rhetoric and tales of heartbreak. But what was most prominent about "Nine Types Of Light" was just how happy it sounded. Straight from the off "Second Song" announced itself in a flurry of glorious horns and a melody to die for, Tunde Adepimbe's high- pitched and soulful vocals reaching the height of their capability. If it was never really realized before just how much fun TV On The Radio were having making their music, they more than made it clear on here.

Please Leave comments below. I hope to have 10-1 up by the end of this coming weekend.

Thanks.