Record Review: Telepathe - Dance Mother

V2/Co-Op
Release Date: 26/01/2009
In a Ragged Word: Fidgety
Rating: ***+ 3.5/5

In a recent interview with Ragged Words, Busy Gangnes told us that she thought it fine for Telepathe’s music to be considered peculiar. She said that Telepathe were attempting to instil a sort of ‘weirdness’ into their pop music. Never mind music critics getting their descriptions right, Busy’s right too. Consequentially, however, that could be a real turn-off for early listeners, and it would be a shame for someone to listen to Dance Mother just once before throwing it into a pile of itchy electro-pop, the kind pouring out of car adverts and mind-scraping myspace profiles.

Dave Sitek’s position in the producer’s seat is obvious enough from the fidgety nature of Dance Mother’s percussion – the tom toms are giddy things, running alongside plentiful, jarring 808 kicks. On first listen these bass drums can be a distraction, but in sight of the record’s wider whole it is part of a movement towards a plateau. The standout track here is ‘I Can’t Stand It’, and slowly building around a vocal loop it’s here that Sitek’s influence can be felt most keenly. The guitar part is steeped in enough reverb to mirror TV on the Radio’s awesome ‘Wolf Like Me’. But the TV on the Radio elements are felt also because there is an admirable level of restraint – Telepathe choose not to ride the song out on a gelid techno wave – instead they allow the bubbling to continue with a lovely, growing harmony lit by coiling steel strings. Here Telepathe find themselves akin to Deerhunter, rather than Ricardo Villalobos.

Fidgety is perhaps the perfect description for Dance Mother’s first half, but it’s all for good reason, at least it feels good. On the penultimate track ‘Trilogy: Breath of Life, Crimes and Killings, Threads and Knives’ Telepathe launch into a more effeminate Drum’s Not Dead-era Liars. The early fidgeting has found its zenith in a strange glitz that seems to tug at so many Hip Hop and experimental influences that this review could find itself studying Flying Lotus, instead.

There’s a lot to Dance Mother, opener ‘So Fine’ is single-material, and it is always playing in Brick Lane’s Rough Trade East. Busy’s endorsement of peculiarity will be a problem for some, but then that’s good, because it’s got much more to offer a patient ear. Telepathe are teething, but this is a good start. This debut is an early document of intelligent artists searching for their sound, and it’s certainly worth witnessing.

Daniel Greenwood