User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 247 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 21 out of 247

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  1. JamesB.
    Aug 8, 2008
    10
    Great music isn't always easy to digest. This is an 11-course meal of gristle on which I happily dine.
  2. ColinR
    Sep 30, 2006
    2
    While it has some interesting ideas and moments, the record generally fails to deliver songs, or melodies, or intelligent lyrics, or any of the things that make a great record (as opposed to a collection of interesting thoughts).
  3. ChadM
    Nov 20, 2006
    5
    Very complex stuff. It dosen't have a real groove to it, so I have a hard time getting in the mood to listen to the album. I can recognize that they are talented, and I will assume that the album will grow on me as time goes by. I believe this is similiar to King Crimson albums where I have to listen to them 20+ times to really start to enjoy them.
  4. TBone
    Oct 2, 2006
    5
    Mediocre.
  5. MaxI
    Jul 8, 2006
    0
    Completely UNFRESH. Black people making music that black people aren't famous for making... oh my that's so novel. Let's make it the cover story of every magazine in the country. OK but the music not there. Every musical idea in this band is completely stale. 10 years late. And the lyrics are cringe-inducing.
  6. stinkrock
    Sep 14, 2006
    3
    could everybody please stop lying to themselves - please! theres a few tracks on desperate youth that were great. whys bowie on this, it makes the track feel heavy with expectation that never delivers. this band, i swear sound as overproduced as coldplay half the time, everythings so flat and clean . everything is so perfectly in the wrong place its contrived beyond belief. ooh - heres could everybody please stop lying to themselves - please! theres a few tracks on desperate youth that were great. whys bowie on this, it makes the track feel heavy with expectation that never delivers. this band, i swear sound as overproduced as coldplay half the time, everythings so flat and clean . everything is so perfectly in the wrong place its contrived beyond belief. ooh - heres another off-kilter piano note...that must relate to the bush administration, it must. feck off. gimme 'young liars' over this but all in all im taking a seat with this band. its one of those albums you cant make out what theyre saying cause its like a child bellowing about - you dont care cause you know it couldnt be that important if it sounds so dumb. i wouldnt mind but people are really falling for the emperors new clothes on this one. its got some nice percussion and maybe two tracks to possibly remember. Expand
  7. Chris
    Jul 14, 2006
    3
    Can't get it. The high points are just ok, the lows excruciating. the Bowie backups distracting. EVERY song has the harmonized vocals. Ok, we get it, but do you gotta do it for every song? Gets old!
  8. morgan
    Jan 27, 2007
    3
    What's your favourite TV On The Radio song? Mines the one where the guy sings annoyingly... my favourite part? Where he goes "Ooo, Ooo" over, and over, and over, and over, and over...
  9. FredDIsStupidMcGee
    Feb 6, 2007
    10
    Year's best CD. Hands down.
  10. RiccardoS
    Aug 8, 2007
    10
    GREATEST ALBUM OF 2006
  11. Joris
    Oct 14, 2006
    6
    Tonight, Wolf Like Me, Province, I Was A Lover and Blues From Down here are the higlights but besides the above mentioned it gets quite boring... Good band but slightly overrated... Bowie didn't only get impressed by TV On The Radio but also by the lastest release of THE SECRET MACHINES (Ten Silver Drops), which is in my opinion far more superior -you should ckeck them out!
  12. KurtD
    Oct 27, 2006
    9
    Great album; good energy and amazing soundscapes. The production here is what really makes the album great, but the songs are pretty damn good, too. Second in 2006 only to Tropicalia (and maybe Toure...)
  13. lucatoni
    Jul 11, 2006
    8
    good record!
  14. CrabsodyInBlue
    Sep 30, 2006
    4
    "playhouses" is great but the rest is soooooo much overrated.
  15. AlexP
    Jan 13, 2008
    10
    This is a stupendous fantasy for the ears. It's gorgeous rough and soaring. One of the best albums of the decade
  16. Sean
    Nov 17, 2006
    10
    wow. it had to grow on me, but it grew very large.
  17. AdamT
    Oct 21, 2006
    10
    Easily the best of 2006, outdoing Arctic Monkeys and Mr.Dylan himself(this year at least).
  18. Dave
    Dec 1, 2006
    1
    I just don't get all the praise that this CD keeps getting!! I gave it a "1" because there are a few songs that are worth listening to. Sure, the sound is different, but good? I think not. The vocals are pretty much impossible to uderstand, and the musical arrangement are more grating than anything. I'll take Neko Case or Belle and Sebastian thank you very much.
  19. RicardoG
    Oct 24, 2006
    10
    just an awesome work. altough,they cant give us the real energy on their live perfomance's, that are astonishing,the music in the album is experimental,very well produced,and the lyrics are f****** unbelivable. 10/10
  20. matt
    Oct 25, 2006
    9
    with only two months left in 2006, this album is the clear front-runner for best of the year...not quite a masterpiece like last year's Illinois, but an incredible work nevertheless.
  21. PerspicaciousCritic
    Oct 4, 2006
    9
    What I like -- no, love -- about "Return to Cookie Mountain" Is that with each and every listen there's a track, that you previously thought as being so-so, that's, in fact, stellar. It gets better with each and every listen, and not in a Clockwork Orange, forcibly-keep-your-eyelids-open-and-watch-repeatedly-till-you're-converted kind of way. (You have to see the film to What I like -- no, love -- about "Return to Cookie Mountain" Is that with each and every listen there's a track, that you previously thought as being so-so, that's, in fact, stellar. It gets better with each and every listen, and not in a Clockwork Orange, forcibly-keep-your-eyelids-open-and-watch-repeatedly-till-you're-converted kind of way. (You have to see the film to get what I mean.) The best example of this, for me, is "A Method," a song that starts off with a whistle, and ends with a whistle (down an empty, drizzly, London street, circa 1950 ... sorry, the whistling paints a picture for me.) Granted, there are one or two tracks that have yet to grow on me, and may never do. But even the mediocre tracks contain impressive soundscapes. Plus the album is short, and tight, enough where you don't have a need, or feeling, to skip the sub-par tracks (that is, if there are, in fact, any sub-par tracks on this remarkable album). Expand
  22. Jimmyn
    Oct 6, 2006
    4
    the song about wolves is pretty good (songs about wolves generally are) but one great song, messy production, and a bowie cameo does not a better album than "loveless" make. tv on the radio is the living colour of the 'aughties, not just because they are black, but that doesn't help matters.
  23. Brian
    Oct 8, 2006
    10
    Album of the year.
  24. Matt
    Jul 13, 2006
    9
    Fantastic. Wasn't a big fan of the last album, thought it was incredibly over-rated, but this is just sublime. All those haters ono here, really not sure what album you've been listening to. Music doesn't come much more joyous and gorgeous than this.
  25. CurryF
    Jul 13, 2006
    9
    Beatiful record. Give it a try at least.
  26. BenRad
    Jul 14, 2006
    2
    I guess I just don't understand the appeal of TV on the Radio. I need a tune, I need a beat that doesn't make me trip over my own feet. Awful.
  27. Jerry
    Jul 18, 2006
    10
    Stunning. Makes my world manageable and more colorful. Go see them live. Wow!
  28. Branislav
    Jul 20, 2006
    10
    excellent
  29. ryanf
    Jul 26, 2006
    9
    in a word, amazing.
  30. thetourist
    Jul 20, 2006
    9
    A brilliant, uncategorisable album. Best opening track this year, easily.
Metascore
88

Universal acclaim - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 40
  2. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. Blender
    80
    On their lush major-label debut, the haunting Peter Gabriel-esque yawlps of singer Tunde Adebimpbe are punctuated by singer-guitarist Kyp Malone, whose raspy falsetto provides a sense of deadpan panic. [Jul 2006, p.103]
  2. A warmer, more linear record than their debut... Spellbinding, frustrating, wonderful.
  3. Spin
    80
    Sitek's layered sonics have grown more immense... and almost none of these songs charts a predictable course. [Jun 2006, p.81]