Metro Nostalgia: TVOTR - Young Liars

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I have been diving into my TV On The Radio back catalog during my Return From Cookie Mountain downtime. The Young Liars [EP] came out a good two years before we kicked this blog off, so I don't think we have ever mentioned it. It is outrageously good. I can imagine how hard it might be for bands to showcase their potential (or true selves) via a four or five track EP. TV On The Radio does it with ease. Recorded in Brooklyn, NY, the EP has a total of five tracks: "Satellite," "Staring At The Sun," "Blind," "Young Liars," and a hidden track ("Mister Grieves").

While "Mister Grieves" (a Pixies cover) exposes an a capella, barebones side of TVOTR, the first four are flawless, classic TVOTR. "Staring At The Sun" later appears on Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes and has been discussed ad nauseum on Metro D. It still gets repeat listens after all this time, still amazes me, and still keeps me singing along. The other three continue to showcase the greatness (at the time it might have been deemed "potential") of TVOTR. Rapidfire percussion with deftly laid guitar parts weave in and out of beautiful vocals during "Satellite" and the two tracks after "Staring At The Sun," "Blind" and "Young Liars," are utterly haunting. I am looking forward to their Baltimore and DC shows more and more, and wondering what the setlists will look like.

MP3: TV On The Radio - "Blind"

[More TVOTR at Pitchfork]