Dear Science,
by TV on the Radio
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 285 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 252 out of 285
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 285
  3. Negative: 14 out of 285

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. EvilEd
    Feb 6, 2009
    5
    Another of those bands which are percieved to be cool and so people jump on the band wagon. Like Elbow the songs are ok but not brilliant. You will bore fro this album after a few listens.
  2. Michael
    May 28, 2009
    5
    The critical babble heaped upon Dear Science is concerning, as it is certainly not the absolute best album of 2008, as many will tell you. Almost by default, it has attained this status. If you have enough critics and fans plumping it their top 25 or 50 of the year, of course it will end up it the top ten of that list. If you look at the overly positive critic reviews, they actually The critical babble heaped upon Dear Science is concerning, as it is certainly not the absolute best album of 2008, as many will tell you. Almost by default, it has attained this status. If you have enough critics and fans plumping it their top 25 or 50 of the year, of course it will end up it the top ten of that list. If you look at the overly positive critic reviews, they actually don't make any sense! Greatness is measured in the music itself, not because someone tells you it is. There was beauty abound in TV on the Radio's previous work. In Dear Science, the band's trademark atmosphere is all but lost to anonymous/annoying beats and over-reaching lyrics. But the greatest criticism I have for this album is its indifference. The band never sticks its neck out on Dear Science in search for something potentially great. But as I said earlier, much worse than the actual album is the generally very poor critiquing of it. Oh well.… Expand
  3. JodieL
    Oct 26, 2008
    6
    It still beggars belief that so many people give such high ratings to albums (not just this, any album), a rating of 10 should be reserved for one of the greatest album(s) you've ever listened to (I would only have 3 and own over 1000 albums). I have tried on numerous occasions to get into TV On The Radio, but alas every time I listen to one of their albums I get the feeling I could It still beggars belief that so many people give such high ratings to albums (not just this, any album), a rating of 10 should be reserved for one of the greatest album(s) you've ever listened to (I would only have 3 and own over 1000 albums). I have tried on numerous occasions to get into TV On The Radio, but alas every time I listen to one of their albums I get the feeling I could be listening to something in a similar genre that is so much better (like The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds). It's good, but it doesn't set the world on fire, some of the songs are incredibly weak in lyricism (as bastu said, "he's a what?, he's a what?, he's a newspaper man, and he gets his best ideas from a newspaper stand" come on be serious, love and dove also rhyme), even though the music is good that will never save an album. If you really want a good album spend your dough on. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago Spiritualized - Songs In A&E Joan As Police Woman - To Survive Portishead - Third. These are much superior albums.… Expand
  4. MichaelJ
    Sep 25, 2008
    6
    It's alright, their most accessible yet least rewarding album. Consider me half-off the bandwagon.
  5. JoeS.
    Sep 29, 2008
    5
    Not bad, but I was disappointment by this new one (especially after all the gushing reviews). It's like they equalized all the peaks and valleys of Return To Cookie Mountain. Nothing that doesn't work like in the last one, but also nothing that soars as high as in the last one either.
  6. MingV
    Sep 11, 2009
    6
    In my definition, music is all about to erupt emotions but not to engulf us in thoughts. If the reverse is true then I'll consider this album to be great. What it lacks is any truly emotional tune-ups at any moment. A little bit of dullness and a lot of turgidity, to sum up.
  7. myrrhman
    Nov 1, 2008
    5
    This album is an identity crisis. Crying is the only song that hints at what the album could have been, but Red Dress and Family Tree are so embarrassing and faceless. Dancing Any band could have written those songs, and even though I think Lover's Day is one of the better tracks, it still lacks what the band is about is filled with unnecessary pomp to compensate for it's This album is an identity crisis. Crying is the only song that hints at what the album could have been, but Red Dress and Family Tree are so embarrassing and faceless. Dancing Any band could have written those songs, and even though I think Lover's Day is one of the better tracks, it still lacks what the band is about is filled with unnecessary pomp to compensate for it's shallowness. Not to mention Dancing Choose is a trainwreck of a song.… Expand
  8. SamwiseG.
    Sep 28, 2008
    6
    TV on the Radio Lite: for people who thought "Wolf Like Me" was the best track on Return to Cookie Mountain. Mediocre at best.

Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Best Album of 2008
13
#13 Most Discussed Album of 2008
45
#45 Most Shared Album of 2008

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Universal acclaim - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 40
  3. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. PopMatters
    90
    There’s a sense of purpose here, of direction and clarity, shafts of accessibility that relegate the din to the background without ever compromising the potentially hostile underbelly of the band’s core sound.
    Read full review
  2. Spin
    90
    Throughout Dear Science, TV on the Radio--which includes the rhythm section of bassist Gerard Smith and drummer Jaleel Bunton--flesh out Adebimpe's and Malone's ruminations with relentlessly inventive arrangements that make even familiar sentiments seem fresh.
    Read full review
  3. The A.V. Club
    91
    On Dear Science, TVOTR finds a more traditional consistency, transmuting that dirty experimentalism into a lush cleanliness that eases--rather than hurls--its songs into the art-making ether.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »