TV On The Radio, the kingly art rock band of the past decade returns with a sudden single, “Mercy.” It kicks in right away. No hesitation. Vocalist Tunde Adebimpe is right there with the spitting hi-hats and grinding guitars. “I fell in love with professional evil on the day you left my side,” he sings.
There is a driving restlessness running through lyrically and rhythmically. It’s a sparse, gyrating rock and roll song from the dance floor of another life. “Mercy” is the group’s first new music since Nine Types Of Light in 2011. May this be the tip of an iceberg ready to melt and flood our ear holes.
Born in Arizona, Eli Jace left the desert on a whim for Boston and wound up following the covered up and detoured paths of journalism. He doesn’t know how this happened. He’s written for The Berkshire Eagle and Somerville Scout before moving to New York City. He works for the New York Post and writes for Independent Music Promotions and Quiet Lunch.