Teleman is back after a 4-year hiatus with a lovely new album. For those unaware, Teleman are a British indie three-piece that does a mean line in infectious pop songs.
I bought their last album, ‘Family Of Aliens’ when it came out in 2018 as one of the first new records to spin on my new Rega deck so the band always has a place in my heart. Once I heard the new track ’Short Life’ on BBC 6 Music a little while back I knew I’d be buying more stuff from them.
There isn’t anything controversial or revolutionary here, it is 34 minutes of delicious pop music. Singer Thomas Sanders’ angelic voice over deceptively simple-sounding tracks makes the album easy to listen to and unchallenging.
I’ve seen a few reviews mention that this record is very middle of the road using that as a slight, I don’t see it like that, not every song needs to be a party political broadcast or a TED Talk, and sometimes it is nice to listen to something catchy.
The record goes against the grain of lockdown records that all seemed to look inward and get all reflective, this is a collection of songs about enjoying the simple things, “life is cherry pie, eat while it's hot” Sanders croons on ‘Hello Everybody’.
If you fancy a slice of upbeat pop with a whiff of Hot Chip or Metronomy about it, this album might be for you.
This is the ‘Watermelon’ red and black half-and-half Dinked Edition which has sold out as far as I can see. Still, the album is available on vinyl that looks like a black yolk on an off-white egg (do a search, it is hard to explain) for about £23 or on traditional black for a couple of quid less.
Tracks To Try: ‘Trees Grow High’, ‘Short Life’, ‘Wonderful Times’, ‘Cherish’, ‘Hello Everybody’, ‘The Juice’.