TV On The Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain

This was the album that proved once and for all that TV on the Radio were more than just a great idea for a band; they were a great band, period - Stereogum, 2016 The story of TV On The Radio is one of synchronicity, serendipity and revelation. TVOTR started when Tunde Adebimpe (vocals) and David Sitek (multi-instrumentalist and producer) were roommates, drank way too much coffee and made art: Comics, movies, paintings. They started sending each other tapes of their four-track recordings and thought it would be fun to make a "real record" out of all that stuff.

Touch And Go released the impressive EP "Young Liars" by TV On The Radio in July 2003, which immediately marked them out as one of the most musically innovative bands of recent years. Their debut album "Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes" got 2004 off to a dramatically positive start. With new member Kyp Malone sharing songwriting, guitar and vocalist duties, TVOTR were quickly on their way to becoming one of the most talked about new groups in America. After touring as a trio, Jaleel Bunton (drums) and Gerard Smith (bass) joined the band to form the official TVOTR lineup. The band's second studio album, Return to Cookie Mountain, was released in early 2006 and received advance praise from media outlets such as Pitchfork before its official release in July. Return to Cookie Mountain features guest appearances from David Bowie, Celebration, Antibalas, Blonde Redhead and Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Reviews

"The sexy, funky "Wolf Like Me," which is the closest the album gets to rock in any conventional sense of the term, and "Dirtywhirl," which spins together images of girls and hurricanes, offer erotic escapes. And by the time the epic final track, "Wash the Day," revisits the sitars that opened the album with a serene, hypnotic groove, Return to Cookie Mountain gives the most complete representation of the hopes, joys, and fears within TV on the Radio's music." Allmusic