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BY ED KING ROCK EXPERT It’s good to hear a band make something worthwhile out of the scrapheap of Yamaha DX-7 synths and Linn drum machines that was the ’80s. Whether sounding like Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark on human growth hormone on “Halfway Home” or INXS with the shades pulled back and a window opened on “Crying,” human hands firmly guide the mouse. Unlike Gnarls Barkley, another practitioner of Silicon Soul, there’s a muscular sexuality at the core of TV’s productions. Like mid-period Roxy Music, you can take this band to a fancy restaurant but you suspect all sense of decorum is out the door once back at your place. Guitarist/producer David Sitek deserves a lot of credit for the success of this album. An affectless, wheezy, 4-note bass synth pattern underpins the Prince-worthy party of “Golden Age.” It’s a subtle triumph of minimalism that ties back to Brian Eno and David Byrne’s subversive commercial high-water marks. The album closes with “Lover’s Day”, with a martial snare beat and an orchestral coda worthy of the Portsmouth Sinfonia.
TV ON THE RADIO: Golden Age
At the Electric Factory October 10th with the Dirtbombs.