You can’t see light, it’s invisible. On Earth the most common source of light is, of course, the sun. And light-bulbs probably. But they’re kinda a lot less impressive than the total frequency spectrum of electromagnetic radiation given off by the star at the centre of our solar system that’s, apparently almost spherical consisting of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields. Stephin Merritt has very little, if anything to do with this, the fifth (fourth studio) album from TV on the Radio. But light, in itself is invisible to the human eye. It only exists visibly when it illuminates other things. So, if there’s nothing to illuminate does it exist? Like if a TVOTR album plays in an empty room, does it make any sound? If you have the volume down it doesn’t. And that would be a travesty. Criminal, in fact.
TVOTR’s Nine Types of Light is to be played at a decent volume for the effect. In fact, I am sure that at precisely the right volume, you will begin to see things previously invisible to you. To be honest, this metaphor is probably getting a little tired now?
Opening with a monologue before the funked guitar line stretches itself across Second Song; falsetto’s disco-fy and defy your scrawny asses into a perfectly incomplete groove that decomposes into a bizarre half-fanfare; percussion runs on in a shuddered murmured rhythm that dances with the rich textures of the vocals in Keep Your Heart – keeping time; providing space. Space falls in and out of the third track, You.
Some sort of tribal ritual is struck; virgins doubtlessly sacrificed in a post-apocalyptic No Future Shock – Drop and Bounce and Shake It Shake It Shake It Like it’s the End of Time. More time and space is claimed and expanded within Killer Crane before the lynchpin and album highlight of Will Do. A guitar line so full of sorrow lies within lush bass lines and a beat soul to souls itself quite, quite perfectly. Did George Clinton join during New Cannonball Blues? Did David Bowie join in Repetition? Did David Byrne join in Forgotten? And who the fuck is that whistling? Caffeinated Consciousness just blows me away.
When you watch the sun setting on the horizon, it’s actually already gone. The light refracts in the atmosphere to cause an optical illusion that you still see the sun despite it already disappearing. Nine Types of Light is the sound of an optical illusion of seeing something that is invisible disappear after it’s already gone. It is not, I repeat, not the sound of a light-bulb being turned off. Ah, metaphors how I love thee.
