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Apr 14, 2011Nine Types of Light proves how hard this quintet can hit, experimental New Yorkers or love-sick idiots.
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Apr 12, 2011Finding the beauty and the beat in unpredictable chaos-keeping the heart when the world falls apart-has always been TV On The Radio's specialty, and here, it sounds completely effortless.
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Apr 12, 2011Beautiful, especially if you like your beauty grand. And beauty is good.
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May 6, 2011Nine Types of Light is a damn good place for those of us as yet unfamiliar with TV on the Radio to start investigating one of the most adventurous bands around today. And I can guarantee that if you start here, you won't stop.
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Apr 11, 2011Light, more than anything I've heard lately, sounds complete and self-contained, and like most of the TV on the Radio catalog, it largely transcends genre. No other context is necessary. Nine Types of Light simply is what it is.
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Apr 11, 2011Nine Types Of Light is another strong early contender for album of the year.
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Apr 11, 2011Even with these toe-dips in fuzzier, darker grooves, there's still a sanguine blanket that covers Nine Types of Light -- and, astonishingly, it doesn't come off as a wallow in overdone pathos.
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Apr 13, 2011Any TVOTR fans hoping for a return to the band's heavier early days might have trouble with Nine Types of Light, an album full of such a brilliant clarity that the title could be referencing its track listing.
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Apr 8, 2011Though this is TV on the Radio at its most melodic and accessible, the music never succumbs to formula.
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Apr 8, 2011Light shines brightest when it mellows.
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Apr 15, 2011Once again, TVOTR channels something unique and forward-thinking.
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Q MagazineMay 18, 2011Nine Types of Lights finds them boldly going forward with their most cheerful, party-centric effort to date. [May 2011, p.123]
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MojoMay 3, 2011Follow-up to 2008's widely acclaimed Dear Science recorded at guitarist David Sitek's home. [June 2011, p. 92]
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Apr 18, 2011It's with Nine Types that they've taken their longest step toward highlighting the influence of Bowie's late '70s/early '80s work and weaving it into a current context.
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Apr 15, 2011Nine Types Of Light is an album that manages to blend experimentation with a welcoming accessibility that proves pop music can still be bold this far down the line.
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UncutApr 12, 2011Nine Types Of Light suggest they're settling in nicely. [May 2011, p.78]
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Apr 12, 2011You believe that the band feels this good, and given their creative freedom, escalating success, and near flawless discography, they probably do.
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Apr 12, 2011Nine Types of Light has the same basic sonic patina, but TV on the Radio still have cards left to play.
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Apr 12, 2011Well, the end of all things must've been pretty bitchin', because the follow-up is pure heaven.
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Apr 11, 2011Maybe it's time to alter our exercitations for new TV on the Radio albums: We might not be blown away, but TV on the Radio's sonic environment is still one of the most interesting venues in music.
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Apr 11, 2011They've been freaks; they've been lover-boys. Now they're spaced-out romantics.
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Apr 11, 2011Nine Types of Light may fall somewhat short in comparison with TV on the Radio's other albums, but it's a strong, smart effort from a band that continues to push resolutely forward.
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Apr 8, 2011The new songs shimmer with languid, sun-kissed grooves, anthemic choruses that U2 would kill for, along with a fine line in tender romance.
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Apr 8, 2011Nine Types...will make those who over-contextualise TVOTR finally quit their chin-stroking and live a little.
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Apr 8, 2011mostly Nine Types of Light feels like the liquefying of a band, ten years and four albums deep, into the soft tenderness of pre-middle-age satisfaction. Like, maybe family life sounds pretty good right about now--and it fits them well.
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Apr 7, 2011Nine Types of Light is a relatively relaxed affair with a focus on the simple love song.
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Apr 11, 2011Nine Types of Light sounds familiar, but it's a good familiar.
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May 19, 2011Ultimately, Nine Types of Light offers a reminder that love's sometimes best at the bitter end.
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Apr 12, 2011Nine Types of Light is unquestionably TV on the Radio's most patient, positive recording to date, taking its cues as much from Dear Science's serene ballads as its brassy workouts.
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Apr 19, 2011Whether you will enjoy this ultimately depends on whether you're more of a rocker or a dancer - indeed, some people much preferred the mellower sound of their last record - but there's little denying that this album misses a lot of the urgency and sheer emotional energy of the band's first two LPs.
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Apr 15, 2011TV On The Radio has become less animalistic, less apocalyptic, less conflicted -- and more loving, more comfortable, more soulful.
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Apr 12, 2011Be it progression or passion for art, it is the key unifying force behind TV On The Radio, and it's not here.
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Apr 12, 2011Nine Types of Light feels like the work of a band more than content to make a good album - a really, very, very good album, yes - but only because they can't be bothered to make a great one.
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Apr 11, 2011In many ways, the album feels like a working holiday for the band; even if it's not as explosive as some of their previous work, it shows that they can age gracefully and try new things at the same time.
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Apr 14, 2011Nine Types Of Light is mostly mellow, slow jams and funky, upbeat love songs.
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Apr 12, 2011Nine Types of Light finds the band firmly in the grip of a middle age that doesn't particularly suit them. So to put it in the popular parlance, it's a Dull Record for Times that are Anything But.
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Apr 11, 2011Could be that the breathlessly lauded TV on the Radio is operating on some encrypted frequency that's beyond mortal ears, but the Brooklyn, N.Y., head-trippers mostly sound asleep at the switch on their fifth album.
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Apr 8, 2011You leave Nine Kinds of Light completely unaltered, neither enlightened nor offended, simply having experienced a series of first-person statements: Adebimpe in his doorless (and not terribly interesting) tower of self.
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Apr 8, 2011The sort-of-romantic themes and sort-of-funk grooves lend a greater unity than usual, but save for a few tracks, the general impression is of lots of bustling, itchy industry – the scratchy guitars, the scuttling beats, the dying-firework synths – to no particularly attractive end.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 69 out of 79
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Mixed: 6 out of 79
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Negative: 4 out of 79
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Apr 21, 2011
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Apr 14, 2011
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Jun 22, 2011