Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

TV on the Radio | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 9, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Touch & Go Records
• ASIN: B0001BVI86
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,550 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Wrong Way

2. Staring At The Sun

3. Dreams

4. King Eternal

5. Ambulance

6. Poppy

7. Don't Love You

8. Bomb Yourself

9. Wear You Out

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

TVOTR is a highly original group from Brooklyn, NY characterized by vocals that range from crazily high-pitched to group chanting and a pop-based sound that’s rampantly experimental but always melodic. Unlike their school-of-’78-in-’04 peers such as the Rapture and Interpol, TVOTR’s music is as rooted in blues, free jazz and gospel as it is the post-punk canon or contemporary electronic music. This makes Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes far more interesting, naturally; the purely vocal "Ambulance" is novel and exciting as anything by Björk, Spongehead Experience or Pere Ubu. With lyrics that impressively, and un-preachingly, tackle issues of race and war, this finalist for 2004’s Shortlist Competition easily ranks among the best albums of that year. --Mike McGonigal

Product Description

Pop, rock, and art songs about discordant living, misrepresentation, life, afterlife, love, and love "after hours". Scandalous. Undeniably catchy songs with incredible production, arrangements, champion crooning, and a host of extras. "They sound like Pere Ubu meets Belfegore meets The Tar Babies meets a way less chilly Notwist with a smidge of Metric thrown in"--Jane.

See all Editorial Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice, but ultimately disappointing August 1, 2004

By Colin

Format:Audio CD

I've had this album since the day it was released, and it's taken me this long to come to a conclusion regarding my feelings toward it. At first, I wanted to like it, all of it. The first song showed some hope for the album's reaching my high expectations, which were set in reference to the band's absolutely brilliant EP, "Young Liars." From track 2 onward, however, I was, for the most part, let down. The band showed true potential for greatness in their EP, but the album as a whole essentially falls short. "Wrong Way," "Staring at the Sun" (why did they cut out the vocal intro?!? it's so beautiful!), "Ambulance," and "Poppy" are the album's only truly strong tracks. The rest of the record is nice enough, but this band is capable of so much better. I originally had this rated as 3 stars, but I decided that a band with so much potential for so much better (as proven on "Young Liars") deserved at least 4.

P.S.- I haven't had the opportunity to see them perform these songs live, and I hear they put on a hell of a show. Seeing these songs played live could easily change my impression of the mediocre tracks on the album, and that fact should be taken into account.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars ive never read the word "hipster" so many times in one place August 16, 2005

By resident_out_of_touch

Format:Audio CD

What does "hipster" even mean?? and is the fact that this band is composed of "hipsters" that significant to the album? I will venture a guess and say no. I'm not particularly enamoured of the self-righteous wierdness of musicians who defiantly call themselves "Indie", i don't wear Rivers Cuomo brand square-rim glasses, and I never considered myself a "hipster" but I still love this CD. I just had to get that hipster rant off my chest cuz it seems like a lot of people (everywhere, not just in these reviews) have taken this band as some sort of indie rock experiment, only worth considering it in the context of all those other wierd indy guys.

i was introduced to the band by MTV2 in Italy, which was playing one of their videos at about 3am. As an avid electronic music fan and practitioner, my ears are somewhat attuned to the twisty sounds of synthesizers and unmistakable precision of drum machines, much like hippies are attracted to didgeridoos, bar chords, and Grateful Dead covers. TVOTR initially struck me as another generally enjoyable though not terribly interesting synthpop band, like Zero7 or Air or any of those other unobtrusive sorts of electro-lounge outfits. But I kept waiting for what i figured was the inevitable beat drop into a chorus or something, and the more it didn't happen, the more interested I got, cuz i couldn't quite figure out what the hell they were up to. When the song finally wound down and ended, more of a 4 minute swell than a build to an ultimate climax, i thought "that was interesting" and bought the album shortly thereafter.

This really is some very unique and somewhat unpredictable music. Regardless of what some reviewers claim, it is not anything remotely close to a Massive Attack knock-off. The sound of the band is similar to trip-hop acts, dark, brooding, somewhat lo-fi, but their songs are structured purely in terms of melody. The programming and atmosphere are constructed around surprisingly robust vocals and strong, evolving melodies that sort of drive themselves, without needing to rely so explicitly on the verse-chorus pop template. Any similarity to trip-hop is purely in the background rhythms, which as i said are more support for vocals than anything else.

Admittedly they do seem to run out of ideas towards the end of the album, about halfway through I begin to tire of it. I have to stress however, that "Wrong Way", "Staring at the Sun", "Dreams", and "King Eternal" are consistently enjoyable. As another reviewer said, if TVOTR maintains that quality on a future record it will be quite an album. I can't think of much else to say, this is really unusual stuff. it's quite apparent that these guys have a different musical sensibility than most anything else on the market.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable March 18, 2004

By Jellybones

Format:Audio CD

Having recently had the supreme privilege of seeing this group perform at an intimate gig, TV has jumped from great band to full on superstars in my view. Blessed with the incredible vocal power of not one but two artistic savants (Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone), this band defies any attempt and pigeonholing. Hints of classic soul, perhaps even true doo wop might be observable, but in no way should the potential listener believe they know what this band sounds like before they put their own ears through the experience. When first listening to "Young Liars", comparisons to Peter Gabriel seemed natural, but really only stand up in a surface comparison to the vocal textures. The lyrics possess a darkness and intensity rarely seen. There is a sense of protest in their song crafting, a palpable aura of rebellion.. Not becoming anything so simple as a political statement or stance on issues, they seem to radiate an intrinsic feeling of non-acceptance to the cold layers of society. In "Staring at the Sun", which makes its way from their brilliant debut "Young Liars", the singers hang on with concentrated determination ("Oh my own voice can not save me now / It's just one more breath and then down I'll go") in front of their unique wall of sound. Occasionally, Kyp breaks out some guitar chord melodies that accent that wall, but don't expect any self gratifying guitar solo's to appear. This band works in unison to create a sound unlike any other, a sound that is refined and expanded on "Desparate Youth". This band is for real, they are truly going to be one of the greatest bands of this decade if they continue down the path they are laying.