Telegenic Pleasure

Reviews

Telegenic Pleasure Telegenic Pleasure cassette

Fantastic synth punk out of both Londons (Ontario, Canada and England). While the bulk of this cassette is filled with eggy, sugar rush synth spazzouts, there’s an undercurrent of power pop here that really makes things feel huge. The first track, “Sealed Off,” is perhaps the best example of this, with a melody that just soars from start to finish. That’s not to say this is a power pop record by any stretch, but just to highlight that there is way more depth here than what may be conveyed if you just listen to one track. Some DEVO influence seems inevitable as you listen, but with each track you realize the better comparison is any variety of bands from the We Are Not Devo (U.S. Synth Punk 79–84) compilation, or another lost classic like “Trust in Technology” by ADAPTORS. Dive into the deep end with this one and enjoy.

Telegenic Pleasure Concentric Grave LP

Synth punk is a style that was born perfect. Distilled down to its most primordial elements, it can be taken and re-created over and over again, and you know what? It is made of such noble stuff, that the results are always highly enjoyable. In the case of TELEGENIC PLEASURE (a band composed of members of the GAGGERS, ISOLATION PARTY, MONONEGATIVES, and MISCALCULATIONS), in addition to the aforementioned genre potentialities, you can expect the great talent and experience of such prolific people to generate great songs. And there are plenty of them on this album. Think of the unbridled energy of LOST SOUNDS and the fun and snotty attitude of late ’70s bands from the San Francisco and Los Angeles scenes. Plus, they have an excellent cover of Canada’s the DEMICS that is sure to become a cult classic.