First full-length from TV on the Radio doesn't quite live up to its expectations

It's 1989. A lovestruck Lloyd Dobler hoists an enormous boombox over his head outside Diane Court's window. He hits "play" and what comes out is the voice of ... TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe?

Well, not quite. As any '80s film buff knows, the above scene from "Say Anything" actually features Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes." But somehow, the voice of New York native, Adebimpe, smacks of the former Genesis front-man.

In fact, most of TV on the Radio's first full-length album, "Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes," seems familiar -- sometimes even nostalgic -- with effects ranging from '80s pop-star vocals to barbershop quartet-style harmonies. But if you can get past your mental images of claymation trains and dancing chickens, you'll see that TV on the Radio surpasses its kitschy associations.

Biographically, there isn't much to separate TV on the Radio from the pack of contemporary New York groups. The trio -- Adebimpe, instrumentalist/producer David Andrew Sitek, and vocalist/guitarist Kyp Malone -- is from Brooklyn, and like so many other bands in that area, they have a strong interest in the visual arts (Adebimpe is a filmmaker and Sitek is a painter).

Staying true to the incestuous qualities of the Brooklyn scene, the band is friendly with their neighbors, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (YYYs). Sitek produced the YYYs' "Machine" EP and album "Fever to Tell." Adebimpe directed their "Pin" video -- which, interestingly, features a "Sledgehammer"-esque stop-motion Karen O doll romping through a macabre New York playground.

Despite the bands' camaraderie, they have little in common stylistically. TV on the Radio's dark reserve is a far cry from the YYYs' unhinged freneticism. Adebimpe, Sitek, and Malone first made waves with the release of their moody 2003 release, "Young Liars."

Of the EP's five tracks, the only one that made it onto the album is "Staring at the Sun," a good example of the contrasting forces at work on "Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes." The vocals are crisp and clean, standing out over the fuzzy growling bass and ticking cymbals. The guitar is indiscernible, presenting more of an emotive force than a showcase of Malone's skill.

The instruments provide a back-up presence until the album's sixth track, "Poppy," when the guitar finally sounds like a guitar and the drums like drums. The finger-snapping and high-hat hitting give the song the feeling of a live performance and distinguish it from the more bizarre electronic songs like "The Wrong Way" with its inexplicable foghorn sound.

The vocals have precedence over the instruments on most of the album. One of the best songs is "Ambulance," in which there are no instruments. Instead, there are layer upon layer of harmonized vocals in what sounds like a bastardized a cappella arrangement. This gruesome love song also contains some of the album's most interesting lyrics: "I will be your accident/if you will be my ambulance/and I will be your screech and crash/if you will be my crutch and cast/and I will be your one more time/if you will be my one last chance."

There are many promising elements on the album, but the band's redundant tendency partially snuffs out their glimmers of creativity. The barbershop effect on "Ambulance" is fun and unexpected, but it's annoying when they pull the same trick two and a half minutes later on "Poppy." "Don't Love You" sounds a lot like "Staring at the Sun" (including the highly Gabriel-ized vocals), and there's the added insult of its trite lyrics: "I just want to let you know I don't love you anymore." Early in the song, Adebimpe admits that "it's been said best before" but that doesn't stop him from saying it for five more minutes.

By the time the final track, "Wear You Out" (a fitting title for another agonizingly long song), suggests "let's break it down," you suspect they won't. And you're right -- the song goes on and on until it mercifully reaches its dissonant end.

The EP worked well because TV on the Radio got a chance to explore -- but not exhaust -- the depths of its darkly inventive sound. In the end, if you could TiVo the band's second release and cut out all the extraneous clutter, "Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes" would probably sound a lot like "Young Liars."