Cookie Mountain good enough for me

My review for this album feels a bit like an addendum. A leaked and "wildly unconfirmed" version hit the internet way back in February of this year. The leaked version quickly generated acclaim through the internet, gaining a reputation as one of the best albums of 2006 even before its release. Despite months of hype, TV on the Radio's second full length album, Return to Cookie Mountain, has just hit US soil this week.

For those that had heard and loved Cookie Mountain, the official tracklist revealed that the unconfirmed leak actually contained the entire album. So if you've been listening, don't expect something entirely new. But there is incentive to pick up a copy. For one thing, there are three bonus tracks added to the US version of the album. More importantly, the additional mixing and mastering that took place between the leak and the official release makes Cookie Mountain sound like a finished product. The songs sound cleaner and now seamlessly come together with small interludes. As would be expected, it just sounds better on the final product.

For those that haven't heard it, I feel obligated to implore you to listen. It would be a crime to skip the vibrant lead single "Wolf Like Me." As the most fist-pumping song on the album, it combines fast-drums with multiple layers of synthesizers and guitars. It sounds utterly stimulating. Even the lyrics provoke images of elation - "My mind has changed my body's frame, but god I like it." By the time the breakdown started, I was totally awestruck, and it only improves from there.

The decision not to open Return to Cookie Mountain with "Wolf Like Me" still seems a bit odd to me, but TV on the Radio chose the second best option. "I Was a Lover" is the only song on the album to rely primarily on samples and a drum machine, so past fans might expect it to resemble the band's previous work. However, it is unlike any song I can recall. The brass sample is addicting to say the least, and the piano bridge comes out of nowhere. Vocalist Tunde Adebimpe quickly asserts himself as one of the most dynamic singers around, if not the most. He switches from falsetto to baritone effortlessly within the first 20 seconds of the song. The vocal contributions of Kyp Malone shouldn't be understated either. His falsetto backup can seem unreal from time to time.

The remaining tracks on Return to Cookie Mountain are just as impressive. A few take a relatively typical approach. "Dirtywhirl" combines the imagery of a beautiful woman with the power of a hurricane, and is probably the most straightforward of all. Other songs are much more challenging, though. "Let the Devil In" sounds more like Liars than TV on the Radio with its emphasis on percussion in place of a hook. Near the end of the album, "Tonight" is content to let the mood simmer with its reverb and even some whistling toward the close.

It's this push and pull between straightforward and challenging songwriting that I think gives Return to Cookie Mountain its long legs. It only gets better as it ages, and those are the kind of albums that become classics. This album doesn't just equal their Shortlist-winning Desperate Youths, Bloodthirsty Babes - it completely blows it away. It's the sound of a band coming together and creating something never heard before, something exciting, something nearly flawless. It's the sound of triumph. That's a beautiful sound.