TV ON THE RADIO ANNOUNCE DESPERATE YOUTH, BLOODTHIRSTY BABES 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION FEATURING 5 BONUS TRACKS

TV ON THE RADIO

ANNOUNCE DESPERATE YOUTH, BLOODTHIRSTY BABES

20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION FEATURING 5 BONUS TRACKS

OUT NOVEMBER 15TH ON TOUCH AND GO RECORDS

HEAR UNRELEASED TRACK “FINAL FANTASY”

ANNOUNCE FIRST SHOWS SINCE 2019

MULTIPLE NIGHTS IN NYC, LOS ANGELES, LONDON

Photo credit: Sumner Dilworth 

Twenty years ago, Brooklyn-based band TV On The Radio released their critically acclaimed debut album, Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes. In celebration, the band’s original label, Touch and Go Records, will on November 15th release an anniversary edition of the project with five bonus tracks, two of which are previously unreleased tracks. The first, “Final Fantasy,” is out now and is an early demo of what became the song “Bomb Yourself.”

Listen to “Final Fantasy” HERE. See the full tracklisting below, and click HERE to pre-order.

Originally released on March 9, 2004, Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes was hailed as “an immaculate album about disappointment in all its forms: romantic, civic, psychological” by Rolling Stone and was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. It features the single “Staring at the Sun” plus a wealth of other memorable tracks, including “Dreams” and “Poppy.”

Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes, is an album full of rich, bruising ideas about life, love and loss. Lyrically but especially sonically, Desperate Youth, captured the dystopian hum of post-9/11 America (a war in Iraq, a proto-right-wing political regime, a surveillance state threatening personal agency at home), putting a voice to the general unease young people felt at the time. Kyp shared vocal duties with Tunde, creating a unique vocal fingerprint that further distinguished them from their peers. Desperate Youth captured the attention of critics around the world, and won the prestigious (and now defunct) Shortlist Music Prize that year. What was first seeded as an experimental enterprise had now, in just a couple of years, blossomed into something beautiful, powerful and whole.

Looking back at the band’s career, it is significant to note that TV On The Radio willfully pushed against stereotypes - musically and otherwise - simply by existing. The notion of a mostly Black indie rock band was, at first, a novelty for critics. But their identity and how it translated to lived experience is exactly what drives them to make the music they do; and over time, what has become more clear, is how they have carried forward the legacy of influential groups like Bad Brains, Death and Funkadelic before them. Similarly, it cannot be understated just how much of an impact TV On The Radio have made on future generations of Black indie artists pursuing their own path.

Known for their energetic and cathartic live shows, TV On The Radio (Tunde Adebimpe, Kyp Malone and Jaleel Bunton) will end a five-year break from performing with a string of dates this fall at New York’s Webster Hall, Los Angeles’ El Rey Theatre and London’s Islington Assembly Hall. Tickets go on sale Thursday, September 12th at 10:00 AM local time. Visit tvontheradio.com for more information. Founding member Dave Sitek is unable to join the live shows.

Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes 20th Anniversary Edition track list:

1. The Wrong Way

2. Dreams

3. King Eternal

4. Ambulance

5. Poppy

6. Don’t Love You

7. Bomb Yourself

8. Wear You Out

9. Staring At The Sun

10. You Could Be Love

11. Staring At The Sun (Demo)*

12. New Health Rock (single)*

13. Modern Romance (from the “New Health Rock” single)*

14. Final Fantasy (2004 recording)*

15. Dry Drunk Emperor (2005 recording)*

*bonus tracks

TV On The Radio tour dates:

November 25 - New York, N.Y. @ Webster Hall

November 26 - New York, N.Y. @ Webster Hall

November 29 - New York, N.Y. @ Webster Hall

November 30 - New York, N.Y. @ Webster Hall

December 4 - Los Angeles @ El Rey Theatre

December 5 - Los Angeles @ El Rey Theatre

December 7 - Los Angeles @ El Rey Theatre

December 10 - London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall

December 11 - London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall

December 12 - London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall

TV On The Radio has been called "one of the most compelling American rock and roll stories of the modern age" (BBC), “the most innovative band on the planet” (AV Club) and simply "superb" (Rolling Stone), proving themselves to be one of the most influential bands of the decade. The band consistently confounds expectations while managing to balance respect from critics and peers alike. Their last record Seeds (Harvest) topped New York Times’ Jon Pareles' Best Albums of 2014 list. Their live show has been dubbed, "sexy nerdiness letting go in a controlled blast of unleashed energy” (The Boston Globe).

They’re influential, in their prime, they’re TV On The Radio, and they’ve established themselves as defining musicians of this generation. Seeds served as another step in continuing to heed their reputation as “the most vital, current band in America” (Associated Press). Prior to Seeds, TV On The Radio's 2011 Nine Types of Light, was deemed "pure heaven" by the cherubs at Rolling Stone, earning the band a Grammy® nomination. Dear Science was voted #1 by fans

in Pitchfork's Reader's Poll and the #1 album in the Village Voice's “Pazz and Jop” poll, composed of reviews by more than 800 critics. Following the love the records received, the band went on to grace the stages of Saturday Night Live and The Colbert Report. Earlier records, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes and Return To Cookie Mountain stole the hearts of fans and critics alike just the same, with the latter being named Spin's “Album of the Year”.