When a band loses a central member, it’s like the body losing a major organ – the show goes on, but it doesn’t feel the same. In April, Brooklyn-based alt-rockers TV On The Radio said goodbye to their bassist, Gerard Smith, who died suddenly at age 36 of lung cancer. The announcement of his passing came just weeks after the band debuted their fourth studio album, Nine Types of Light. Shows were canceled, and the relieving breath fans felt when welcoming back their favorite band from a yearlong hiatus quickly diminished as the aftermath of Smith’s death reverberated.
Now, more than two months later, the band has slowly revived the tour and potentially regained some of the momentum that was lost in the tragedy. Perhaps playing in front of sympathetic, expectant fans is a form of catharsis – just another step in the grieving process? Whatever it is, we’re glad the Pitchfork date has been kept because when TVOTR plays, it delivers.
Led by frontmen Tunde Adebumpe on vocals and Kyp Malone on guitar, bass and supporting vocals, TVOTR has come a long way since its 2001 debut. Producing four consecutive, critically approved albums, leaving fans unquenched – in a good way – with each new release and touring non-stop for six years, the guys have proven their staying power and ingenuity, especially on Nine Types of Light, in which the band co-released a one-hour film featuring music videos for the album’s tracks and interviews with a bevy of New Yorkers.
As if offering up a cinematic companion weren’t enough, the album migrated from the static, heavy sounds of some of the band’s earlier efforts and was noticeably lighter in lyric and message. Actual love songs were prevalent, and the heavy undertone of regret that usually accompanies alt-rock ballads was refreshingly absent.
Last on the Pitchfork weekend lineup, TVOTR couldn’t provide a more rousing, reflective punctuation mark to what is sure to be a weekend of unfaltering talent.
TV On The Radio will play on Pitchfork’s Green stage at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, as the last performance of the festival.
