Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1438 in Digital Music Album
• Published on: 2008-09-16
• Released on: 2008-09-16
• Running time: 3022 seconds

Customer Reviews

Serious fun
I'll admit right away to feeling a little out of my depth as I sit down to write this review. I'm a latecomer to the whole TVOTR thing. I don't currently own a copy of Return To Cookie Mountain (soon to be corrected, however), despite its apparent esteemed status in the post-2000 indie canon. I'm in my 30s and am feeling increasingly distanced from the plethora of new indie bands that appear on the scene every year. Maybe that's not a bad thing, maybe it's inevitable, but I guess I am just having a harder time separating the wheat from the chaff. I'll admit to having bought this CD on a whim, largely because it's a step outside what I typically listen to and I am trying to branch out some more. All that to say, this is not the review of someone who is intimately familiar with the band's prior recorded output.

I believe that this band is in the same general age category as myself (I recall reading that somewhere, at least) and that doesn't surprise me when I hear this CD. I recall reading in the same article that the band member being interviewed referenced the Cure and other 80s alt-rock bands as touchstones in his musical development. I hear a lot of that here and I like it, since that is the music I listened to back in high school as well. But the key is, this band doesn't just stop there. I hear Prince influences, the Antibalas horn section, and a lot of digital sounds in the mix too. Yes it does seem very produced but for some reason this doesn't bother me that much because there is so much else to pay attention to. Then there's the matter of the lyrics. In "Red Dress," probably the emotional core of this album, Adebimpe lays it all on the table - I urge anyone considering whether or not to buy this album to look up these lyrics online and read them. They are pure poetry, plain and simple, describing with empathy and sympathy the confusion of the world we live in. Other songs on this album are well-written too but none rise to quite these heights.

I see a lot of criticism for this album on here and I can see where some of it is coming from. At its worst, there are places where the album sags under the weight of the production, and the darkness of some of the lyrics does not mesh with the dance beats. For me though, when it comes together on songs like the aforementioned "Red Dress," it really works. The band obviously has the ability to write great songs, and perhaps it would be to their benefit not to bury this quite so much in production. However this is small stuff. I really enjoy this disc on multiple levels and am ready for more from this band. Time to order Cookie Mountain.

What good music is all about.
There was something about 'Return To Cookie Mountain' that intrigued me and I tried repeatedly to get into that record. Ultimately, I came away liking only a couple of the songs but also with great respect for the band's creativity. It was an unusual combination of feelings.

For me, 'Dear Science' resolves that conflict. There is no sacrifice in imagination or creativity and the songs have a more accessible style which peaks in track two, 'Crying'. However, there is no lack of dark sentiment here, both musically and lyrically. In particular, 'Halfway Home' and 'Family Tree' two of the record's highlights, generate a feeling of weird dread and disturbance due to the ideas and pictures they suggest but never fully reveal.

While all the lyrics are interesting and fit very well with the music, vocalist Tunde Adebimpe's lyrics are are nothing short of poetry. His narrative sketches are, at times, almost hypnotic.

Guitarist David Sitek's production is noticeable for the intelligent balance it strikes between the Jaleel Bunton's multi-level drumming styles and nice touches of horns here and there amongst the synths and vocals.

As for the deluxe edition? There are actually sixteen tracks, with track twelve being exactly four minutes of silence. The four extra tracks are worth the extra cash. 'Make Love All Night Long' is a good song but not quite as good as the album tracks. 'Heroic Dose' clocks in at about seven minutes and has a spoken french vocal over electronics and horns - also pretty good. 'Dancing Choose' is the only song I don't like on the record and so the remix leaves me cold too. The remix of 'Crying' is a little longer than the original at 4.29 and stays faithful to the original version with the addition of extra synths and some cutting and pasting of the vocals.

Album of the year? Well, what does that mean anyway? That said, for me, 'Dear Science' is one of the top three records of the year, along with 'Consolers Of The Lonely' by The Raconteurs and 'The Seldom Seen Kid' by Elbow.

High Ambivalence
I can't remember when I felt so ambivalent about an album (and a band) as I do about TVOTR and "Dear Science." There are some terrific songs on the record. But overall the music is so over-thought, so over-arranged and over-produced that it can barely breathe, let alone rock. Every bit of aural space has to be filled with some kind of effect or little gewgaw, as if the band wanted so much to impress the listener with their creativity. They need to loosen up. Maybe get rid of Sitek, since he seems to be responsible for much of the clutter. Tunde Adebimpe's a strong vocalist, but he's down too low in the mix. Maybe the band will get it right the next time. There's enough good stuff on this one to make me hopeful.