In the midst of all the Sufjan Slumpens, Devandra Whineharts and other pathetic acts of pussy rock not worthy of mention, TV on the Radio dumps pretentious poet-ism in favor of returning to Cookie Mountain.

Wait, what’s Cookie Mountain? Who knows? Who cares?

Continuing the tradition of defecating grandiose “”concept albums”” sprinkled with poetic jargon, TV on the Radio’s second LP is riddled with intellectual flirtations, leftist agendas and cameos from mainstream giant David Bowie and indie giant Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead fame.

The parts of the album that actually matter (a.k.a. the music), however, are brilliant: sound collages of slick production, soulful vocals, hip-hop beats, thick walls of guitars and off-kilter funky bass lines. Sure, these are the same crafts responsible for TV on the Radio’s critical acclaim for their outstanding first EP Young Liars and debut LP Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes. But what sets Return to Cookie Mountain apart is the willingness not to experiment, not to prove edginess, and not to out-avant-rock every other New York band, instead giving a relaxed recount of TVOR’s unique sound.

It is admirable that a band born from the No Wave revival scene, along with the (early) Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Liars, came to carry the same aesthetic without sounding No Wave, but soulful and spiritual instead.