“Wolf Like Me” by TV on the Radio

"Wolf Like Me" was the first single from TV on the Radio's Return to Cookie Mountain, issued on 4AD in July 2006 on CD and 7-inch vinyl, with "Things You Can Do" on the flip. It's the moment the art-rock brainiacs cut loose and simply charged.

Tunde Adebimpe wrote it, and he sings it like a man half out of his own skin, with Kyp Malone's voice tangled up in his and Katrina Ford dropping in as a guest. Underneath, the thing gallops: Jaleel Bunton's drums pound out a runaway rhythm, three guitars from Bunton, Malone and Dave Sitek stack up into a dense, buzzing roar, and Malone also holds down the bass. Sitek, who produced it, piles on synthesizer and sampler until the whole track feels ready to burst its seams, while Martin Perna's baritone sax growls somewhere in the fog. It's post-punk revival muscle with a head full of weird ideas.

It became the band's most successful single in the United States, reaching number 37 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart in 2006, and gave them their second UK top 100 hit at number 89. Local H thought enough of it to open a 2010 EP with a cover.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.