The Telescopes – Exploding Head Syndrome

Tapete

I find it really heartening that Stephen Lawrie is continuing his Telescopes trajectory in such a self-contained manner. This latest album, The Telescopes’ eleventh and the third for Tapete, finds Stephen solely in charge of the band’s direction and after the centre of the Earth feel of As Light Return, with its monolithic slabs and black hole circling, there is a return to more song-based structures on Exploding Head Syndrome‘. That isn’t to say that the deep textures and feedback embellishment are not apparent, just that the songs here are more concise and at times even take on a kind of lullaby quality with Stephen’s narcotic vocal delivery subduing any feeling of upheaval.

Everything sounds submerged on the first two tracks, particularly the voice, with incessant reverb and circling motifs giving the impression that we could be down in the deep, in the company of the angler fish with only the angular guitar lines giving any sense of light. I don’t know how he has managed to make the drums sound so deep, but along with a kind of rhythmic shaker on “Everything Turns Into You”, the track takes on a weirdly tribal feel, but in absolute monochrome tones of blue while the subtle yet insistent repetition worms its way into your head.

Things are a little lighter on “You Were Never Here”, a hypnotic lullaby with a pretty little organ melody that lurks amid the roiling textures of the track and there is touch of romantic hopelessness to the vocal delivery on “Until The End”. The sounds of a tide rushing onto the beach draw the album onto land for the first time, or at least under open skies. A lonely walk along a deserted beach, waiting for something, but what that something is we are not too sure. As the album progresses further, things become more vibrant, with lovely helicopter reverb on “Don’t Place Your Happiness In The Hands Of Others” — a very wise sentiment in my opinion — which finds Stephen’s voice clearer and the delicate guitar line having a much fresher texture.

The beauty perhaps of shutting yourself away in seclusion and using the studio as a sounding board is some of the effects that can be produced if you have nobody else demanding a particular sense of progress. The use of the shingle as a rhythmic device on “Nothing Was Held” joins perfectly with a two-note organ that evokes a slowly revolving siren. These two little ingredients make for such a compelling whole, and this approach to the structure of the songs cause each track to stand out from the others enough to make for a really satisfying listen. By the time we reach the final track “Why Are We Doing This To Each Other”, the guitars have become grungier, the voice more animated and there is a strange kind of Hawaiian feel, which was unexpected.

Although the basic ingredients of The Telescopes’ music haven’t really changed, it is Stephen’s willingness to experiment with texture and tone yet stick with the basic craft of writing a good song that makes the lonely furrow he is ploughing one that is well worth following. After thirty years or so, there is still a sense of unfinished business and for the sake of the listener, let us hope that continues.

-Mr Olivetti-