#30: TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)

'Return to Cookie Mountain' is the second album from the Brooklyn-based (isn't everyone, nowadays?!) TV on the Radio. This album is like a puzzle that clicks together after a while and gets better with every listen. It's experimental and challenging without being pretentious. Obvious standout-track is 'Wolf Like Me', a dark, upbeat rocksong. It's catchy and raw, and one of the best singles from recent years. 'Wolf Like Me' will drag you into this album, but the other songs will make you stay. They are less upbeat but will slowly claw their way in to your heart. The vocal harmonies and the dense structure of layer upon layer reveal their beauty only after a few listens. 'Province' (a collaboration with David Bowie) is a hopeful song about love: Love is the province of the brave. 'I Was A Lover' is less optimistic: I was a lover, before the war. Also: And we don't make eye contact / When we have run ins in town / Just a barely polite nod and look at stairs towards the ground. The album closes with the epic 'Wash the Day Away'. It is noisy and exciting and leaves you with one wish: to listen again.