Since unleashing the Peter Gabriel-like "Staring At The Sun" in 2003, TV On The Radio has done just about everything an indie band can hope for. They've released two lauded albums, made the major label jump, opened for the Pixies, recorded with David Bowie, and won the Shortlist Prize. And while The Arcade Fire may be the most blogged about band of the last two years, one could argue that TVOTR may be the art band the media loves the most. 2006's Return To Cookie Mountain made the Top 5 2006 albums list of Rolling Stone (#4), Spin (#1), The New York Times (#1), The Village Voice (#2), and Pitchfork (#2). This in spite of the fact that Cookie Mountain isn't an easy listen by any definition, and requires some real time for the listener to get past a cold sonic surface of muted vocals and hazy noise.

Live, the band is a totally different beast. The aggression, volume, and intensity of TVOTR's early afternoon set at ACL 2006 won us over despite our early hesitation about the album, and ultimately explains the band's music in a way the recordings cannot. These guys mean what they're doing, and you'll see that immediately. The fact that both "Staring At The Sun" and "Wolf Like Me" (see embedded video) are some of the best singles of the 00's doesn't hurt, either.

TV On The Radio performs on Thursday night at La Zona Rosa with support from London's The Noisettes, a 3-piece that sounds like they would easily befriend The Black Keys or The White Stripes by playing their tight but noisy indie-blues stomps.

[TV On The Radio MySpace]
[TV On The Radio Official Site]

TV On The Radio with The Noisettes
Thursday, April 5th
La Zona Rosa [map]
Doors at 8pm, Show at 9pm
$25 [tickets]

Image via joshtrix on Flickr.