Teleman — Family of Aliens (Sept. 7, 2018)
• London four~piece creates sparsely instrumented, intelligent indie pop music, in the same vein as contemporaries Alt~J and Django Django.
Location: London, UK
Album release: September 7, 2018
Record Label: Moshi Moshi
Duration: 47:51
Tracks:
01. Family of Aliens 4:03
02. Cactus 4:53
03. Song For A Seagull 4:00
04. Between The Rain 3:44
05. Always Dreaming 4:08
06. Submarine Life 5:31
07. Twisted Heart 3:38
08. Somebody’s Island 3:25
09. Sea of Wine 4:50
10. Fun Destruction 2:58
11. Starlight 6:40
Group Members:
• Hiro Amamiya
• Jonny Sanders
• Peter Cattermoul
• Tommy Sanders
AllMusic Review by Heather Phares; Score: ****
• “It’s hard when you feel twisted in a world so straight,” Teleman‘s Thomas Sanders sings at one point on Family of Aliens, and it’s a lyric that sums up the band’s career remarkably well. In the wake of the acclaim they earned for Brilliant Sanity, it would have been logical for them to continue making tightly wound guitar pop anthems, or even write an album’s worth of the dance~rock they pursued on the Funf EP. Instead, Teleman’s third album downplays both of those sounds in favor of quiet, reflective synth pop songs about drifting to and from different places and people. It’s a move that’s more than a little perverse, especially since the band buries Family of Aliens’ most immediate track, “Fun Destruction” (which sounds like a kissing cousin to the Brilliant Sanity single “Dusseldorf”), on the album’s second half. Nevertheless, Teleman’s wry outlook, winding melodies, and artful arrangements abound on moments such as the spooky yet joyful title track and the buoyant escapism of “Somebody’s Island.” Likewise, the band still excels at using themes and imagery in creative and satisfying ways. Teleman express Family of Aliens’ concepts of isolation and belonging in a spectrum of songs that spans the bouncy, ELO~like “Between the Rain,” the ominous propulsion of “Cactus,” the jutting funk of “Twisted Heart,” and the cloistered piano pop of “Sea of Wine.” By the time “Starlight” lets the album float off on a contrail of barely audible synths, Teleman prove that following their bliss is more important to them than more predictable markers of success, and it’s hard to hear Family of Aliens as anything other than a soft~spoken declaration of independence.
Description:
• Armed with a freer, more collaborative approach to both writing and recording, Teleman’s new 11~track album Family of Aliens, is a fluid collection of glorious pop~songs fluent with new electronic textures and united by the sharp lyricism, buoyant guitars and instantaneous melodies that are synonymous with Teleman.
• “We want to keep evolving and keep discovering. This band is one long journey for us, and we never want to stop developing and finding new ways of creating music. I’m always wanting to better what we’ve done before. To go deeper, to find something more beautiful, more catchy, more challenging, more interesting … just more.”
• It’s evident the much~loved quartet have evolved, cultivating and honing...
Bandcamp: https://telemanmusic.bandcamp.com/album/family-of-aliens
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Telemanmusic/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/telemanVEVO
_____________________________________________________________
Location: London, UK
Album release: September 7, 2018
Record Label: Moshi Moshi
Duration: 47:51
Tracks:
01. Family of Aliens 4:03
02. Cactus 4:53
03. Song For A Seagull 4:00
04. Between The Rain 3:44
05. Always Dreaming 4:08
06. Submarine Life 5:31
07. Twisted Heart 3:38
08. Somebody’s Island 3:25
09. Sea of Wine 4:50
10. Fun Destruction 2:58
11. Starlight 6:40
Group Members:
• Hiro Amamiya
• Jonny Sanders
• Peter Cattermoul
• Tommy Sanders
AllMusic Review by Heather Phares; Score: ****
• “It’s hard when you feel twisted in a world so straight,” Teleman‘s Thomas Sanders sings at one point on Family of Aliens, and it’s a lyric that sums up the band’s career remarkably well. In the wake of the acclaim they earned for Brilliant Sanity, it would have been logical for them to continue making tightly wound guitar pop anthems, or even write an album’s worth of the dance~rock they pursued on the Funf EP. Instead, Teleman’s third album downplays both of those sounds in favor of quiet, reflective synth pop songs about drifting to and from different places and people. It’s a move that’s more than a little perverse, especially since the band buries Family of Aliens’ most immediate track, “Fun Destruction” (which sounds like a kissing cousin to the Brilliant Sanity single “Dusseldorf”), on the album’s second half. Nevertheless, Teleman’s wry outlook, winding melodies, and artful arrangements abound on moments such as the spooky yet joyful title track and the buoyant escapism of “Somebody’s Island.” Likewise, the band still excels at using themes and imagery in creative and satisfying ways. Teleman express Family of Aliens’ concepts of isolation and belonging in a spectrum of songs that spans the bouncy, ELO~like “Between the Rain,” the ominous propulsion of “Cactus,” the jutting funk of “Twisted Heart,” and the cloistered piano pop of “Sea of Wine.” By the time “Starlight” lets the album float off on a contrail of barely audible synths, Teleman prove that following their bliss is more important to them than more predictable markers of success, and it’s hard to hear Family of Aliens as anything other than a soft~spoken declaration of independence.
Description:
• Armed with a freer, more collaborative approach to both writing and recording, Teleman’s new 11~track album Family of Aliens, is a fluid collection of glorious pop~songs fluent with new electronic textures and united by the sharp lyricism, buoyant guitars and instantaneous melodies that are synonymous with Teleman.
• “We want to keep evolving and keep discovering. This band is one long journey for us, and we never want to stop developing and finding new ways of creating music. I’m always wanting to better what we’ve done before. To go deeper, to find something more beautiful, more catchy, more challenging, more interesting … just more.”
• It’s evident the much~loved quartet have evolved, cultivating and honing...
Bandcamp: https://telemanmusic.bandcamp.com/album/family-of-aliens
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Telemanmusic/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/telemanVEVO
_____________________________________________________________