The Breakdown
The legendary The Telescopes return to the fray with their new album ‘Of Tomorrow’ – their astonishing fifteenth album and the fifth released through Tapete Records. Meeting somewhere in the dark corners of the universe with the Velvets, Leonard Cohen and JAMC in an absinthe-soaked bacchanalian dive bar, this is a band that emits a shimmer of light through an overcoat of melancholy, a sparse atmospheric and beautiful noise.
‘Of Tomorrow’ is a thirty-eight minute seven song journey of fuzzy shoegaze and chemically-enhanced pop of the highest order, culminating in the eight minute long ‘Down By The Sea’. A gothic cloak flutters around the shoulders of a collection of dark, ominous tracks that swaggers and prowls in the half light, yets emits sparks of intensity throughout.
Opening track and recent single ‘Butterfly’ thunders in like a out of control freight train: ominous synth frills hover above a relentless rhythm section which paces like a caged tiger with a dark intent – singer/guitarist Stephen Lawrie’s vocals deadpan and cold, back in the mix with a disinterested drawl filled with attitude and swagger. In fact the entire track swaggers with malevolent intent.
The theme is a simple reflection on change and mutability
We’ll fly again
We’ll get high again
Oh baby
Oh baby
The repetition and circular, swaying motion is hypnotic and immersive and is perfectly reflected in the psychedelic monochrome video by Jean De Oliveira & Matilda Reid and featuring Reid:
‘Everything Belongs’ floats in with a lighter synth-inflected tone and a drifting drone background while Lawrie’s vocals are again haunting and distant, reverberated and slightly delayed, creating a chemically-induced, psychedelic hue, drenched in melancholy.
Apparently inspired by a children’s song, ‘Where Do We Begin’ has a pounding percussion that echoes in the ether while a hypnotic whirl of instruments circles flow under the layered vocals with the indelible melodies – a droning transfixing mix. The sound of this track confirms this band’s place in the pantheon of indie rock as one that went on to influence sixties-flavoured psych bands like The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols.
‘Only Lovers Know’ rolls in like a mist off the sea with a transformational anthemic sparkle that is inspirational and moving. The shimmering music is tempered by the almost subterranean, almost spoken vocals with a nursery rhyme simplicity. Like a sombre elegy with a funereal pace and a twanging guitar and soothing organ, this is a statuesque and ethereal track.
The quiet revery is thrust aside and the listener in receipt of a sonic defibrillator with the jaunty high stepping trot of ‘The Other Side’ with its carousel, fairground glitter instrumentation. As ever, Lawrie’s vocals provide an anchor, a stay, a weight upon the levity of the music – reflective, sonorous and distant. Fizzy discordant guitars wail at one point across the central spine while the rhythm section thunders incessantly. Lawrie’s vocals are enticing, hypnotic, slightly surreal.
‘Under Starlight’ shines more radiant light upon the sonic battlefield with a shaker percussion and chiming guitars, soaring organs and again Lawrie’s voice a steady northern light to guide the listener through the glitter and the gloss.
Final track ‘Down By The Sea’ is an extended sonic adventure into the world of psychedelia – a dreamy intro that swirls and turns like an eddy before the vocals enter with a distant reverie. The slow, steady pace becomes hypnotic with Lawrie a Pied Piper story-teller drawing you into the murky depths as the waters rise. It is liquid, ambulant, with a slow ebb and flow that’s immersive and filled with a dreamy reverie.
The album is out on Friday, 19 March and you can pre-order here and through the link below.
You can get a preview through the link below.
The Telescopes are about to embark on an extensive European tour – details below.
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