The Telescopes have turned into a fascinating device over the last ten years or so.
Of that initial flush of ’80s/’90s noise guitar bands, The Telescopes have done the most to leave their history far behind, ploughing an awkward distorted furrow that somehow turns up gems with every release, their bittersweet melodies hidden beneath ever deeper beneath layers of shimmering murk. I like Stephen Lawrie‘s attitude towards them; seeing himself more as a guardian of the name rather than it being about him. He channels ideas and uses whomever may turn up to realise those sounds.
As part of Tapete‘s ongoing Sessions releases, the label and Stephen have looked through numerous dates going right back to the band’s initial line-up and recordings for John Peel as well as later sessions for BBC Manchester. They have arrived at what they consider the most revealing of this later incarnation; an opportunity to experience the fleeting fluidity of a live show and also to hear very different versions of tracks with which the listener may feel themselves familiar.
With only seven tracks taking up fifty minutes, “Violence” alone is the length of some of the entire Pixies sessions which 4AD released recently and perhaps that sense of sheer dogged, obsessive crawling repetition drawn out to a hypnotic degree is the complete antithesis of the Boston band and a lot of what came for indie rock years ago. There is always a build of pressure, the voice a fractured groan dropped into the melee of a helicopter flying through an abandoned warehouse; a mogadon-soaked Suicide awash with reverb. Muddy, insistent drums appear on some of the tracks and this version of old favourite “The Perfect Needle” has the kind of knife-grinding guitar that does echo the nineties; but here it is burnished with their current sound, an extraordinary growl with the vocal melody, if you can call it that, surfing the barrage like an oil-soaked wave. The tracks do follow a similar path like a radioactive slug, slow and intent but studded with diamond flashes that appear from the descending murk. Submerged voices circle the abyss in “Violence”, never managing to exert enough energy to escape.“Strange Waves” has more of a rhythm and with it a greater sense of momentum. The locked-room drums and coruscating slash of broken-glass guitars breaks through like some sort of torture, but nothing derails the juggernaut. Short and to the point, it shows another side of the group and to a certain extent that is the pattern of the album. We might think of Stephen as a fairly lugubrious character, but when the screams penetrate the murk on “We See Magic And We Are Neutral, Unnecessary” and its sheer overload of guitar tries to burst the speakers — it is quite an effect. This feels more like a hunt with a psychotic feral hound yowling in the distance.
Considering the monotone nature of the tracks, it is a varied and pretty thrilling ride. It doesn’t really matter about the line-up because the songs seem to exist regardless and it is interesting how compelling the vocal melodies are, residing as they do in this glittering murk. In fact, on “Something In My Brain”, the drums are so buried that you can only just make out the sticks counting the song in.To be honest, if you are a Telescopes fan, Radio Sessions 2016-2019 is an essential addition to the collection. Whether it wins new fans is hard to say, but its queasy, questing spirit and adherence to sheer noise shot through with melody will certainly appeal to many.
-Mr Olivetti-
