TV On The Radio

Maybe one reason TV on the Radio gets listed among the best American bands of their generation is because their free-ranging sound deftly throws together a multitude of American musical traditions all at once. The avant-garde indie rock band started as a duo in 2001 when vocalist Tunde Adebimpe met multi-instrumentalist and producer David Andrew Sitek by coincidence. Though they were both recording material for individual projects, they joined efforts and brought in Sitek's brother Jason on drums for sessions that resulted in a self-titled debut released on Brooklyn micro indie Milk. On the strength of this recording, the band signed with Touch and Go, signed up guitarist/vocalist Kyp Malone and released the Young Liars EP in 2003, which was met by unanimous critical praise. They toured throughout 2004 supporting their debut full length, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, which was similarly extolled. With dates opening for the Pixies and a fan in David Bowie, TV on the Radio's popularity outgrew their indie label, and in the summer of '06 they issued Return to Cookie Mountain on Interscope (featuring back up vocals from Bowie), which nabbed top spots on a number of year-end lists for 2006. They followed up with an equally solid album in 2008, Dear Science.