Record Label: Cobra Music
Genre: Alternative
Band Link:
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Telephone have that 90s alternative fuzzy, down-key guitar sound that is pleasant but forgettably mediocre. Like, remember Dinosaur Jr.? Yeah, me neither.

This kind of muddy, mumbly, mamby-pamby fuzz rock is a disappointed for two reasons: First, the press kit promised synth rock, and synthesizers warm me heart. Unfortunately, the synths here exist not to strengthen melody or explore faux-retro modernity, but to add to the impenetrable wall of dullness.

Second, Telephone is fronted by a co-founder of the Dandy Warhols, a band that successfully turned fuzzy alternarock into hook-laden Brit-style psych rock. The Dandy Warhols weren’t always my cup of tea, but they could write songs, and a few of them were even decent.

By comparison, Telephone is grindingly simplistic. They’re not terrible – often, a song begins and I think “wow, this sounds really good,” and then I realize that nothing changes for the next four minutes and my attention had long turned to more interesting things, like whether I need to re-spackle my bathroom. Tracks “Shout About It,” “In December,” and “Mystery Girl” in the first half are good examples of a great sound that recycles itself into mush.

In the second half, “Fascination” and “Burying Pieces” are the strongest tunes with a cathartic-yet-upbeat feel and prominent synth lines, but even there the blah-ness never entirely dissipates. Occasionally on the album, and particularly the last two tracks (with cliched titles “Goodbye” and “Falling”), the band proffers lengthier Cure-like delves into gloomy synth-pop. While a far cry from Disintegration quality, that meditative and self-pitying sound actually suits them better than their heavily sonic but flat attempt at something more rocking.

Bottom Line: Was hoping for bright hooks and fun synths but got middling fuzz rock.
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