TELLISON
Tellison are from London and formed in 2003. The line up consists of Stephen Davidson, the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, lead guitarist and voacalist Peter Phillips, Andrew Tickell on bass and vocals and drummer Henry Danowski. ‘The Wages of Fear’ is the band’s second full release, following on from 2007’s ‘Contact! Contact!’. The album features 12 tracks, most of which are pretty straightforward indie style rock in the vein of a band like Bob Mould’s Sugar. The thing that makes Tellison stand out from the crowd, however, are the lyrics which are a notch above your average rock band and, on occasion are pretty clever. From a lyrical perspective, the band are reminiscent of The Divine Comedy or They Might Be Giants. The standout tracks are ‘Say Silence(Heaven & Earth)’ which is immensely catchy, the first single from the album, ‘Collarbone’, ‘Freud Links The Teeth and The Heart’ (great title!), which is a gentler song that befits the romantic yet amusing lyrics, and ‘My Wife’s Grave is in Paris’, which is another track with a gentler feel but with an altogether darker lyrical theme. It is perhaps telling that a couple of the standout tracks are slower, quieter compositions as, if the band have a weakness it is the fact that, on the heavier songs, the lyrics are not always clearly discernable. This is an issue because the lyrics are well crafted and are not being delivered to maximum effect. The gripe about the audibility of the lyrics aside, this is a solid release with more than competent musicianship on display and some well composed songs. However, there is not much here that makes you sit up and take notice on first hearing and, as such, this is not a ‘must have’ purchase.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Naim Edge
Album
THE WAGES OF FEAR
Review by Dave Uphill
RUNNING TIME:
44:52
RELEASE DATE:
13th June 2011
TRACK LISTING
1) Get On
2) Say Silence (Heaven & Earth)
3) Know Thy Foe; 4) Collarbone
5) Freud Links the Teeth and the Heart
6) Horses
7) Rapture
8) Tell It To Thebes
9) Letters from Pre-Med
10) Vermont
11) Edith
12) My Wife's Grave is in Paris
2) Say Silence (Heaven & Earth)
3) Know Thy Foe; 4) Collarbone
5) Freud Links the Teeth and the Heart
6) Horses
7) Rapture
8) Tell It To Thebes
9) Letters from Pre-Med
10) Vermont
11) Edith
12) My Wife's Grave is in Paris
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
UK
"The thing that makes Tellison stand out from the crowd...are the lyrics which are a notch above your average rock band and, on occasion are pretty clever."
