Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: abe vigoda, ecstatic sunshine, fuck buttons, gang gang dance, no age, no pain in pop, south street seaport, telepathe, tv on the radio
I’ve been mulling over posting about Telepathe (pronounced “TEL-EP-ATH-EE”) for a few days. I first heard of them once the lineup was announced for the past Friday’s free show at South Street Seaport, featuring Telepathe and Abe Vigoda opening for No Age. I tried looking up their music online, but it was extremely difficult to find much of their work, with the exception of their 2006 EP, Farewell Forest. After listening to it, I couldn’t exactly say I was impressed. Airy-drone that combines ritualistic beats with repeating hooks and loops is not exactly a new style of music, and unless you can write interesting and engaging songs, it is far too easy to slip into a description the realm of boring. While true drone fans may disagree with my assessment, what I can say is that bands like the current lineup of Ecstatic Sunshine have seemingly mastered the act of balancing repeating noises and sound loops while preventing the songs from becoming monotonous.
Anyway, I had low expectations going into the gig, and unfortunately I cannot say my mind was exactly changed after seeing them live. Telepathe certainly had the look, being avant-garde artists and musicians from Brooklyn, and the ladies could have easily modeled for whatever is the favorite alternative-fashion magazine nowadays, stealing the front cover from the likes of Agyness Deyn and her counterparts. But their live show was just not that interesting. Most of what they performed was off of a laptop, and the one real instrument that was used, a guitar, was completely inaudible. While that may have been due to the lack of a decent sound system (or the fact that all the bands sounded terrible outdoors), it caused all the attention to be focused on the girls, and there is only so long that you can listen to spoken word and repeating lyrics.
So after all of that, why am I bothering posting about Telepathe? Well, it mostly has to do with the song I’ve linked on the bottom of the post, Chrome’s On It. Right now, you can hear the song on a 7″ single out on No Pain In Pop. Everything I that I complained about with the music on Farewell Forest has seemingly been revised. This track continuously surges forward during the length of the song, slowly building a thick and hazy atmosphere that is enhanced by floating vocal harmonies. And while around 3 sentences of lyrics are used, lead singer Busy Gangnes keeps things interesting with the sweet melodies. Instantly, Telepathe’s sound become pure pop, a direction they are far more equipt to head in. Rather than trying to match up to the dense tones of bands like Gang Gang Dance or Fuck Buttons, Telepathe have embraced the melodies and create the environments around those.
Keep a lookout for their full length debut, Dance Mother, produced by David Sitek of TV on the Radio. If this song is indicative of the direction Telepathe is heading, you can count me amongst the interested.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: abe vigoda, los angeles, no age, sonic youth, sub pop, telepathe, todd p
So I figure now is a good time as any to get a No Age post in here. I was recently reading through a copy of AM New York, a free newspaper distributed all over the city and in between articles about the latest celebrity gossip and the sports scores, I came across a full page spread on No Age. They are playing a free show at the South Street Seaport on Friday with Abe Vigoda from LA, another one of my favorite new bands, and Telepathe from Brooklyn.
The article didn’t give me any new insight into what the band has been up to lately, nor what their future plans hold, but it got me thinking about the group as a whole and their rise to success over the last few months. While I had been anticipating their Sub Pop debut, Nouns, for a while, I never would have thought that the album would still be in my daily rotation today, more than two months after its release. The songs may not immediately catch your attention, nor will the long intros and endings consisting of distorted effects loops and noises attract the casual listener, but once you’ve listened to the album for the fourth or fifth time, you begin to get it.
And maybe, because of my appreciation for the music, I’ve been so excited to see the success the band is having. The band has been featured in various magazine photo shoots and covers, had their first video premiere on an MTV show hosted by Pete Wentz, everyone’s favorite emo-celeb, and have been headlining tours all over the country. It would be easy to say that the band has been “selling out,” but to use another cliche, maybe more and more people are “buying in.” There is nothing wrong with a band finding success and despite the oddity of finding them featured in a relatively mainstream spotlight, I can’t help but think how cool it is that “alternative culture” is being brought to the front lines. I don’t subscribe to the idea of exclusivity and preserving the underground nature of anything. While it’s nice having things to yourself, wouldn’t you want to share with others? I find that to be so much more satisfying.
Anyway, back to No Age the band. Rumor has it that in addition to the free show on Friday, they will also be playing at Todd P’s gigantic mid-summer show extravaganza. Go see them. It’ll be worth your time. If you are at all a fan of Sonic Youth’s signature distortion, or the punk rock aesthetic of countless Brooklyn-based bands right now, I promise you’ll have a good time.
EDIT: Again, for some reason, I think it’s kinda cool that No Age has reached the people. Including dudes in Montauk wearing No Age tee shirts at the train station.
