I’m currently on holiday. I thought this would be a good chance to catch up on a load of new music and get plenty of reviews written up. Turns out that holidaying with a two year old doesn’t afford you many opportunities for relaxing with your headphones on. Like most parents, I personally think my son is hugely intelligent but, at the same time, toddlers are morons. Left to their own devices for too long (e.g. 1 minute) and they’ll probably manage to put themselves at danger of death. And that danger just seems to increase with the addition of sun, sea, and sand.
I have still got through enough new music to put together the weekly playlist; ranging from dance bangers to the dreamy lo-fi indie of Youth Lagoon. And there’s the album of the week review from Red Telephone. There was a few new albums I’d wanted to give more time to, but I haven’t got beyond one or two listens.
I want to briefly touch on one of them here; the heavily hyped debut from indie ‘supergroup’ boygenius, which has been getting critical acclaim from pretty much everywhere. Now, I’m not really one for giving negative reviews to new music, I’m more about recommending new favourites. But seriously, what am I missing there? It’s boring as fuck. It seems completely melody-less to me. Like there’s choruses on there, but they’re incapable of writing a decent hook. That might be slightly unfair; a lot of it is fine, just totally forgettable. An album full of filler. There’s a tune on there, Anti-Curse, which briefly got me excited, but then it just stumbles along to a disappointing conclusion, failing to deliver on its potential. I’m genuinely finding the hype around them bizarre. Can someone explain?
Album of the week
Red Telephone – Hollowing Out
I’ve been looking forward to this debut album from Cardiff’s Red Telephone on the strength of the single, Waiting For Your Good Days, which is one of my tunes of the year so far. Nothing on the album quite reaches those heights. The rest of the album is more of a slow burn, but there’s still plenty to like.
I read a snippet which described them something like “The Bowie meets Kraftwerk house-band on the set of Blade Runner”. Now, I haven’t got a one liner as cool as that ready, but that definitely sets the tone for what to expect here; there’s a cinematic quality undercutting the whole thing.
It’s an album which creates a consistent mood straight from the opening track, and pulls you into its vibe, for me that vibe is basically 80’s dystopian sci-fi movie. And that cinematic/sci-fi feel will have you trying to decipher deeper meanings and interpreting a wider story running through.
Even the vocal stylings of frontman, Declan Andrews, feel conceptual. The slightly nasal, androgynous, Bowie-esque tones are almost robotic, like he may be taking on a character. It also feels like there’s a restraint running throughout the songs. Like there’s often a huge chorus waiting, which never quite reveals itself. Or on opener, Hollowing Out, which definitely hints at Glam, but never quite lets loose to full blown Glam Rock.
That restraint combined with the vocals and general vibe had me taking a stab at some sort of underlying story about replicants; machines which understand the concept of emotion, but can’t actually feel or express it. This is best encapsulated on Normal Life, where the sentiments are completely logical and understandable, yet expressed so bluntly that they feel devoid of emotion.
Now, I’m pretty sure that this isn’t actually a concept album, and I’m kind of reaching with my attempted interpretations. If anything, a lot of the songs are probably more a reflection on modern habits of living vicariously or seeking validation through social media. But one of the album’s strengths is how it elevates individual songs by making them feel part of a wider context. Take Waiting For Your Good Days; already an excellent song, but on its own it’s relatively restrained with it’s big chorus, which isn’t even really a chorus. But as the closer to the album it works like a big emotional climax; suddenly much more expansive when placed alongside the even more restrained previous 30 minutes. And if there was one underlying message to the whole album it’s probably best captured in that song. Always waiting for a better moment/feeling which is yet to come or just out of reach.
I’ve barely touched on what they actually sound like, I’ll just say that they sound like loads of things that have came before (you can hear the influences from the 80’s synths to the aforementioned hints of glam), yet also don’t quite sound like anyone.
An album to get lost in and find your own meanings (whether they’re there or not).
Best tunes: Waiting For Your Good Days, Hollowing Out, Wake Me
You can check out previous weeks’ best new music roundups at the Best New Music Weekly archive link below. And you can keep up with the latest updates by following No Frills Reviews on your chosen social platform.
No Frills Reviews 
Leave a comment