Return to Cookie Mountain (TV on the Radio) (2006):
In the final analysis, it is this album, and not the two it sandwiches, that will come to define the TV on the Radio experience this decade. Though Bowie championed their debut’s cause, it is here that he contributed and though critics lapped up Dear Science by rote, it still doesn’t cover as much ground and really just benefits from its predecessor. One can bandy Bowie’s name around to define the middle group the band covers with pop/rock but predominately this is the sound of Prince if he had leaned in on the heavy stuff. And who has not been wondering when the next Prince would come along? In Tunde Adebimpe we’ve found the next best thing and his band proves that no one does swagger quite like them. At just under an hour, Return to Cookie Mountain wastes little time in establishing itself. I Was a Lover is a slow-burn that samples Massive Attack’s Teardrop to beautiful effect. The track sounds like electronic poetry being slowed for a saddened heart. Wolf Like Me is the undeniable hit, a track that captures the restless, beast-like energy that pulsates through rock music and the youth who live by it. A Method features a simple percussion loop but fierce backing vocals by Kyp Malone and Adebimpe. These three tracks help to identify what is so enduring about the album and the band; a uniting force that draws so many different listening ears to one central figure or moment in time, just like Prince and Bowie in their prime. This is for all the freaky folks uniting and getting their cookie genetic make-up groove on while sipping cool-aid and taking shade from the sun in designer glasses.
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