TV on the Radio kick off the first night of their sold-out three-day residency in north London with a deceptively mellow thrum – the kinetic sort that holds the promise of electricity. The band were originally a pivotal force at the start of the millennium, nourished by the New York ecosystem that gave birth to groups such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Strokes and LCD Soundsystem. TVOTR always remained a band apart though. Back then, phones didn’t take pictures and genre constituted a meaningful set of parameters. TVOTR were ahead of their time: nimble wrongfooters of expectations, neither wholly TV nor radio, majority Black and influenced by a range of disparate sources.
This most eclectic of indie bands remain masters of the slow, layered build; of gratification tantalisingly delayed. This low-key reunion tour eases fans back in with a similarly assured hand. For several minutes. Kyp Malone and Jaleel Bunton’s twin guitars feel restrained and painterly, while lead singer Tunde Adebimpe shakes bells, whistles into the mic, then layers effects on to his “woohs”. Soon, keys player Dave Smith whips out a trombone and the band light up, resolving into a maturing glare of sound. This is TVOTR’s breakthrough early track, Young Liars, in which Adebimpe’s lyrics overflow with classy agitation at a breakup.
