REVIEW: TV on the Radio recovers from tragedy with steady precision of ‘Seeds’

“Seeds,” TV on the Radio’s first full-length release in three years, marks a transition, growth and a return to the beginning. Released Monday, it’s the first album by the band since the death of bassist Gerard Smith, who died of lung cancer nine days after “Nine Types of Light” was released in 2011.

Any band could have tried to get better too quickly — rushed to create a mediocre album to heal the pain. Not TV on the Radio. Instead, the members of TV on the Radio stopped to take a deep breath, to heal. And after a sufficient break, they made their most well-rounded, down-to-earth and mature album to date.

The album begins with “Quartz,” a series of simple harmonies between singer Tunde Adebimpe and singer/guitarist Kyp Malone, with handclaps, chimes and repeated vocal samples that are perfectly layered. It transitions into the second single from the album, “Careful You,” which contains spooky synth beats and slow, moaning vocals. You can’t help but leisurely nod your head along with the beat.

In true TV on the Radio fashion, there’s the weird and there’s the widely appealing on “Seeds.” “Careful You” and lead single “Happy Idiot” could find their way onto any alt-rock radio station — and have — with no trouble. What makes “Happy Idiot” so appealing is the urgency sustained throughout the entire three minutes, similar to previously released upbeat singles like 2006’s “Wolf Like Me” from “Return to Cookie Mountain.” More than any song on the album, it feels put-together enough but also intriguing enough to attract the masses.

“Right Now” is another standout tune, but it isn’t as likely to achieve mainstream success, because it doesn’t necessarily have the aforementioned upbeat nature. But there’s a soulful simplicity that makes it one of the most complete tracks on the entire record. Never have Malone and Adebimpe’s voices blended together so seamlessly.

There’s a heavy soul- and gospel-like influence that carries through the entirety of the album. Church-like keys and choral harmonies pop up in many of the tracks. But there’s also a very punk rock, Dead Kennedys/Sex Pistols element to the songs “Winter” and “Lazerray,” with their distorted guitar riffs and loud, angsty teenage emotion. It shouldn’t fit with the rest of the album, which is relatively quiet, but it somehow does.

The album quiets down with “Trouble” and the title-track “Seeds.” “Trouble” evokes perhaps the overriding emotion throughout the album: “Everything is gonna be OK / Oh, I keep telling myself / Don’t worry, be happy.” Lyrics like these could be cheesy or gag-inducing, but they instead are touching, fitting, even tear-inducing given the context.

“Seeds” lacks a certain experimental nature present on the band’s previous four LPs that made them all so engaging. Instead, “Seeds” is precise, clean and steady. But after more than a decade of making music, settling down a bit isn’t exactly a bad thing.