Upon first listen, it was clear to me that Nine Types of Light, the fourth studio album by Brooklyn quintet TV on the Radio (although that number was unfortunately subtracted by one when bassist Gerald Smith died of cancer in April of this year) was inferior to at least its two immediate predecessors, 2006's Return to Cookie Mountain and 2008's Dear Science. It fell a little too much on the mellow side, and it lacked something with the brute force and raw power of Return's "Playhouses" or the infectious hummability of Science's "Golden Age." And anyway, it is no shame to fall short of those albums. Both ranked among the best of their year and decade. However, since I still spend money on music - sometimes I feel like I am the only one - I decided I would give it more than one listen. I'm glad I did.
