Seeds (TV on the Radio album)

Seeds
Studio album by
TV on the Radio
ReleasedNovember 18, 2014
Recorded2013–2014
Genre
Length52:43
LabelHarvest
ProducerDave Sitek
TV on the Radio chronology
Nine Types of Light
(2011) 		Seeds
(2014)
Singles from Seeds
  1. "Happy Idiot"
    Released: September 2, 2014

Seeds is the fifth studio album by American art rock band TV on the Radio, released on November 18, 2014 through Harvest Records.[1] It is the band's first album since the 2011 death of their bassist, Gerard Smith.

The album's first single, "Happy Idiot", was released on September 2, 2014.[1]

Recording

Seeds was recorded in Los Angeles, at guitarist Dave Sitek's Federal Prism home studio.[2] Sitek also produced the record. Lead singer Tunde Adebimpe explained, "It was nice to be somewhere where you're not exactly on the clock and worried about how much everything is costing you. It was pretty much the same situation as when we started making music."[3]

Release

The band announced the album on July 29, 2014.[4] Adebimpe stated in a press release:

We've been through a lot of stuff in the past few years that could have stopped the band cold, but I'm glad we got it together and took stock of the unique connection we have between each other because the record is, 1,000 percent, without a doubt, the best thing we've ever done.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.2/10[5]
Metacritic78/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
The A.V. ClubC[8]
Cuepoint (Expert Witness)A−[9]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[10]
The Guardian[11]
NME8/10[12]
Pitchfork7.2/10[13]
Q[14]
Rolling Stone[15]
Spin7/10[16]

Seeds was positively received by most critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 78, based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6] Many reviewers commented on the album's shift in aesthetic from the band's past work, attributing it to the passing of long-time band member Gerard Smith. Heather Phares of AllMusic wrote that "Seeds has a palpable sense of moving on for TV on the Radio [...] with the band confronting loss directly on the album's first half and accepting it on the second." She found the album to be "a fine tribute to Smith and the sound of enduring unimaginable loss."[7] Mark Beaumont of NME observed that "grief and anger are channelled into a propulsive energy, driving the quartet's synthetic pop explorations with added garage-rock urgency" and ultimately concluding that the band "have returned from an uncertain period sounding remarkably fresh."[12] Ian Gormely of Exclaim! described it as a "sublime catharsis after the group's tragic loss and a perfect distillation of what the band do best".[17]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Quartz"3:58
2."Careful You"5:12
3."Could You"4:01
4."Happy Idiot"3:03
5."Test Pilot"4:41
6."Love Stained"4:20
7."Ride"6:29
8."Right Now"4:23
9."Winter"3:41
10."Lazerray"3:37
11."Trouble"4:34
12."Seeds"4:44
Total length:54:13
Vinyl edition/Japan CD bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Nobody Else"3:19
14."Mystery Eyes"5:21

Charts

Chart performance for Seeds
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 42
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 100
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 120
French Albums (SNEP)[21] 159
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 73
UK Albums (OCC)[23] 78
US Billboard 200[24] 22

References

  1. ^ a b Minsker, Evan (September 2, 2014). "TV on the Radio Detail New Album Seeds, Share "Happy Idiot"". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Grow, Kory (July 29, 2014). "TV on the Radio Tease New Album 'Seeds' With Colorful, Ethereal Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  3. ^ Locker, Melissa (17 Nov 2014). "TV on the Radio Talks Seeds: 'Much To Our Surprise, We Know What We're Doing Now'". Time. Retrieved 23 Nov 2014.
  4. ^ Nelson, Michael (July 29, 2014). "TV On The Radio Announce New Album Seeds".
  5. ^ "Seeds by TV on the Radio reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Reviews for Seeds by TV on the Radio". Metacritic. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "Seeds – TV on the Radio". AllMusic. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  8. ^ Arroyo, Steven (November 18, 2014). "TV On The Radio overcomes loss to make its celebration album". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  9. ^ Christgau, Robert (February 13, 2014). "Robert Christgau: Expert Witness". Cuepoint. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  10. ^ Anderson, Kyle (January 7, 2015). "Seeds". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  11. ^ Simpson, Dave (November 13, 2014). "TV On the Radio: Seeds review – pop emerges from darkness". The Guardian. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  12. ^ a b Beaumont, Mark (November 17, 2014). "TV On The Radio – 'Seeds'". NME. Archived from the original on November 18, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  13. ^ Harvey, Eric (November 17, 2014). "TV on the Radio: Seeds". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  14. ^ "TV on the Radio: Seeds". Q (341): 108. December 2014.
  15. ^ Machado, Jessica (November 18, 2014). "Seeds". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  16. ^ Weber, Theon (November 19, 2014). "Review: TV on the Radio Make Like Happy Idiots on the Breezy 'Seeds'". Spin. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  17. ^ Gormely, Ian (November 14, 2014). "TV on the Radio: Seeds". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  18. ^ "Australiancharts.com – TV on the Radio – Seeds". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  19. ^ "Ultratop.be – TV on the Radio – Seeds" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – TV on the Radio – Seeds" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  21. ^ "Lescharts.com – TV on the Radio – Seeds". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  22. ^ "Swisscharts.com – TV on the Radio – Seeds". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  23. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  24. ^ "TV on the Radio Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 24, 2022.