Tuesday 21 September 2010

99 Red Balloons

There are some people that never seem to sleep. Like David Andrew Sitek of TV On The Radio. He is a member of one of the craziest and most original bands around. He is what one would call a sought-after producer with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Scarlett Johansson and others in his portfolio. I seriously doubt the man lays his head on the pillow. Still, he pulls another string of sleepless nights and adds one more thing on the ‘what I’ve done so far’ list: Maximum Balloon.

He does them both here, songwriting and producing. It’s the singing bit that he leaves to a number of guest vocalists and “star-studded” doesn’t even begin to describe the album. David Byrne, Karen O, bandmates Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, the Swedes from Little Dragon to name some.

Hipster wonderland this is but the rules Sitek lays down are more pop than anything. He cites Prince, Madonna and Cyndi Lauper as influences for this project and drops the intricacy of TVOTR for a neon-lighted fun-fair. It still is wonderfully layered and thick, noisy even, but its funk and glamour are more important than anything.

There is also a lot of the singers’ persona here. Communication feels like something that would follow Yeah Yeah Yeahs It’s Blitz, with Karen O seductively taking hold of the spotlight. Apartment Wrestling is the perfect embodiment of just every reason why David Byrne is so great. Tunde Adebimpe makes Absence of Light a remarkably dark beast, the bleeps and howls adding a sense of urgency.

Sitek knows there is no need to be coy and goes full throttle on the listener, leaving no real moment for us to take our breaths. From the highly infectious 80s synth and luscious vocals provided by Celebration’s Katrina Ford on Young Love and the gameboy-scented outfit If You Return, its masterfulness enhanced by Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano vocals, to the almost surrealist background of The Lesson, it all feels like a whirlwind of great pop tunes.

It’s hard not to feel terribly excited about this album. Sitek’s talent seems to have no boundaries and neither does his boldness. And, amongst all the fun and incredible song crafting, what makes Maximum Balloon so great is the terrible sense of unity, not once leaving you that stale taste that this is sheer patchwork, not a solid record, like most featuring albums do.

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