The teasers have paid off. TV On The Radio, one of the great American indie rock bands, are coming back. It’s been nearly 10 years since TVOTR released Seeds, their most recent album, and it’s been five since their last gig, opening for Weezer and Pixies at Madison Square Garden. But now, TV On The Radio are getting ready to play a short run of shows in three cities and to drop a 20th-anniversary reissue of their debut LP Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes.
This version of TV On The Radio will not look like the last one. According to a press release, David Andrew Sitek, TVOTR’s guitarist and producer, “is unable to join the live shows.” What’s Dave got going on, anyway? Instead, the band will consist of Tunde Adebimpe, Kyp Malone, and Jaleel Bunton. The new TVOTR live gigs will not be an easy ticket. They’re playing four shows at New York’s Webster Hall, a venue that they probably could’ve sold out in the Desperate Youth days, as well as three nights apiece at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theatre and London’s Islington Assembly Hall.
The deluxe Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes reissue is coming out on Touch And Go, the legendary and mostly-inactive indie label that released the original. It’ll include a few previously unreleased recordings. Today, TVOTR have shared “Final Fantasy,” an early version of the Desperate Youth track “Bomb Yourself.” Below, listen to “Final Fantasy” and check out TVOTR’s tour dates and their tracklist for the Desperate Youth reisssue.
TOUR DATES:
11/25-26 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
11/29-30 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
12/04-05 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
12/07 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
12/10-12 – London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall
TRACKLIST:
01 “The Wrong Way”
02 “Dreams”
03 “King Eternal”
04 “Ambulance”
05 “Poppy”
06 “Don’t Love You”
07 “Bomb Yourself”
08 “Wear You Out”
09 “Staring At The Sun”
10 “You Could Be Love”
11 “Staring At The Sun” (demo) *
12 “New Health Rock” (single) *
13 “Modern Romance” (B-side) *
14 “Final Fantasy” (2004 recording) *
15 “Dry Drunk Emperor” (2005 recording) *
* bonus tracks
The 20th-anniversary edition of Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes is out 11/15 on Touch And Go.
