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Wall Street Journal

‘Thee Black Boltz' by Tunde Adebimpe Review: A Solo Record's Homemade Sound

For the first decade of this century, the New York rock scene was defined by a cluster of talented bands—the Strokes, Interpol, LCD Soundsystem—borrowing elements from underground movements of the past and making them their own. Part of the fun of experiencing these acts in their earliest days was the legibility of their references, from Joy Division to Television. TV on the Radio, an art-rock outfit founded by singer Tunde Adebimpe and multi-instrumentalist David Sitek in Brooklyn in 2001, was a little harder to figure out, which became part of its allure. As it added members and built a following leading up to its 2004 debut, 'Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes,' and its 2006 breakthrough, 'Return to Cookie Mountain,' the group became increasingly hard to pigeonhole, and it wasn't just because of its musical influences. TV on the Radio was a mostly black band in a mostly white scene, and wrote elliptical songs that sometimes touched on politics—its members seemed more serious, and also more musically ambitious, than their peers. After 2014's 'Seeds,' the project went on an extended hiatus, though the past year has seen a buzz of activity, including a tour. There's no word yet of a new record, so for now Mr. Adebimpe's debut solo LP, 'Thee Black Boltz' (Sub Pop), out Friday, will have to tide fans over.