There's something wonderfully out-of-time about the music of The Telescopes. To the credit of Stephen Lawrie, Telescopes main-man, the music's always felt that way. Releasing records that prefigured the big shoegaze boom decades ago, and then retreating into his own sound-world away from that, Lawrie has used The Telescopes to deliver albums which are as vital as they are thankfully disreputable.
The drugged-out "Shake It All Out" grinds Halo Moon, the new Telescopes record, to a start. It's morose and a bit grubby, and thoroughly great. That one, a clear highlight here, shows that this lot still have whole moods left to convey. The slight blues stomp of "Come Tomorrow" is smartly realized, while "For the River Man" takes that further, adding what sounds like a harmonica far in the mix. Lawrie mumbles his way through this and the whole effect is borderline hypnotic. This is the sort of music Bobby Gillespie once tried to make before he decided he wanted to be Mick Jagger, you know? "Nothing Matters" is the most tuneful thing here, even though there's an aching sadness about it and its hook, while closer "This Train Rolls On" sounds like the end of days indeed. The title hints at a faint nod in the direction of the blues again, but this is unearthly stuff, closer in spirit to Crime and the City Solution than anything shoegaze, thankfully.
Stephen Lawrie finds inspiration in the darkest places. I dig that. Every Telescopes record in the last few years has been listenable and engaging, even if the music strikes a mood that is not exactly buoyant and upbeat. Halo Moon is full of mood, menace, and nuance, and for those qualities, it's very highly recommended.
Halo Moon by The Telescopes is out now via Tapete Records.
[Photo: The Telescopes]