Nine Types of Light

Last updated

Nine Types of Light
NTOL.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 11, 2011 (2011-04-11)
Recorded2010
Studio
  • Federal Prism (Glendale, California)
  • Brooklyn Recording (Brooklyn, New York)
  • Head Gear (Brooklyn, New York)
Genre
Length43:40
Label Interscope
Producer David Andrew Sitek
TV on the Radio chronology
Dear Science
(2008)
Nine Types of Light
(2011)
Seeds
(2014)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic? 7.8/10 [3]
Metacritic 82/100 [4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The A.V. Club A [5]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [6]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [8]
MSN Music (Expert Witness)A− [1]
NME 8/10 [9]
Pitchfork 7.7/10 [10]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Spin 8/10 [12]

Nine Types of Light is the fourth studio album by American rock band TV on the Radio, released on April 11, 2011, through Interscope Records. It is the final TV on the Radio album to feature bassist Gerard Smith, who died of lung cancer nine days after it was released. The album's lead single "Will Do" was released on February 23, 2011. [13] Its closing track, "Caffeinated Consciousness", was made available on the band's website as a free download on March 10, 2011. [14] Nine Types of Light was very well received by critics and has a "Universal Acclaim" rating of 82 at review aggregating website Metacritic. [4]

Contents

Film

The band created an accompanying film to go with the album, an hourlong visual companion that offers music videos for all of Nine Types of Light's tracks. Packaged with a deluxe version of the CD, the film also exists on YouTube in its entirety. [15] Characterized by eclectic visual style and thematic content as well as TV on the Radio's diverse, unique sound, the film allows for a different interpretation and method of experiencing the album. Directed by singer Tunde Adebimpe (with different directors helming the individual clips, see below for list), the film also features interviews with a variety of New Yorkers discussing topics including dreams, love, fame, and the future. A humorous epilogue, set to the song "You" and featuring the band members meeting for lunch ten years after a fictional breakup, concludes the film. Overall, the work can be seen as Afrofuturistic, particularly the video for "Will Do," which incorporates virtual-reality technology to tell a unique love story starring Adebimpe and Joy Bryant.

Track listing

  1. "Second Song" – 4:22
  2. "Keep Your Heart" – 5:43
  3. "You" – 4:05
  4. "No Future Shock" – 4:03
  5. "Killer Crane" – 6:15
  6. "Will Do" – 3:46
  7. "New Cannonball Blues" – 4:34
  8. "Repetition" – 3:46
  9. "Forgotten" – 3:40
  10. "Caffeinated Consciousness" – 3:21
Deluxe version
  1. "All Falls Down" – 4:55
  2. "Will Do" (Switch Remix) – 5:20
  3. "Will Do" (XXXChange Dancehall Mix) – 3:45
iTunes version
  1. "Troubles" (bonus track) – 3:04
Film [16] [17]
  1. "Caffeinated Consciousness" – dir. Tim Nackashi – 02:27
  2. "Second Song" – dir. Michael Please – 05:46
  3. "New Cannonball Blues" – dir. Maya Erdelyi – 11:05
  4. "No Future Shock" – dir. Jon Moritsugu & Amy Davis – 15:11
  5. "Repetition" – dir. Johnerick Lawson – 19:38
  6. "Will Do" – dir. Dugan O'Neal – 24:48
  7. "Keep Your Heart" – dir. Petro Papahadjopoulos – 28:29
  8. "Forgotten" – dir. Tunde Adebimpe – 34:09
  9. "Killer Crane" – dir. TV on the Radio & Dano Cerny – 39:26
  10. "You" – dir. Barney Clay – 49:17
  11. "Dragon Backwards" – dir. Tim Nackashi, Tunde Adebimpe & Jaleel Bunton – 59:09

Personnel

TV on the Radio

Additional musicians

Production

Design

Charts

Chart performance for Nine Types of Light
Chart (2011)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [18] 25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [19] 51
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [20] 68
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [21] 82
French Albums (SNEP) [22] 76
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [23] 68
Irish Albums (IRMA) [24] 33
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [25] 39
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [26] 46
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [27] 65
UK Albums (OCC) [28] 33
US Billboard 200 [29] 12

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