After hearing it more and going to a TV On The Radio show, I think it has a few really great tracks then several just above average tracks. (Which is the same way I feel about cookie mountain, tracks 1-5 great, the rest just above average.)
I don't think it's fair to accuse people of deciding to like the album before they heard it. I'm sure it was predictable who would like it, but that's like predicting who will enjoy a hamburger more, a meat eater or a vegan. Every magazine's staff has it's own tastes, and obviously liking one eccentric pop album is going to correlate with liking another one.
Also, have you noticed that when a critic's darling band gets critical praise, people say 'Oh, they're just a critic's darling'. But when they release a bad album, they get slammed immediately, called overrated, blamed for their hype, and their success unjustly attributed to Diplo.
I'm not sure where I stand on this one. In one aspect I think critics favorites are favored for good reason. If a band has shown it's ability and creativity in the past the music community should rally around that. But, on the other hand, you hope that critics don't profess blind love. But, I kind of agree that most established acts usually aren't given much leeway after a couple albums. There might be certain critics who have favorites (Pitchfork's unfailing love for Animal Collective comes to mind) but for the most part critics usually tend to be harsher on the vets.
I never did get the hype of TV on the Radio so I'll refrain from my opinions on whatever ratings they get.
One of the reasons why I like this site so much is that it introduces me to superb music I would normally miss out on had it not been for the critics. But sometimes critcs rate music that is easier to admire than to like. I admired "Return to Cookie Mountain" but I could never really get into it. "Dear Science," on the other hand, I can't get enough of. An album that strives to make experimental music popular? What's wrong with that? It's euphoric and engaging. What a rare and wonderful combination.
