Telekinesis is the songwriting vehicle of
Michael Benjamin Lerner, whose music splits the difference between summery indie rock and buoyant power pop. A multi-instrumentalist who usually plays all the instruments on his
Telekinesis recordings,
Lerner achieved a classic pop sound on early efforts like 2009's
Telekinesis! and 2011's
12 Desperate Straight Lines, but shifted his focus to vintage synth pop on 2015's
Ad Infinitum, while 2019's
Effluxion struck a balance between the two sides.
Based in Seattle,
Lerner handled most of the instrumental duties on his band's debut,
Telekinesis!, which was produced by
Death Cab for Cutie's
Chris Walla and released in spring 2009.
Telekinesis then launched a tour in support of the record, with auxiliary members
Chris Staples, David Broecker, and Jonie Broecker filling out the lineup. On the 2010 EP
Parallel Seismic Conspiracies,
Lerner took over production duties, but for his next full LP,
12 Desperate Straight Lines, he was back to working with
Walla. For the tour that accompanied the release,
Lerner formed a new band with
Jason Narducy on bass and
Cody Votolato on guitar.
Lerner's third outing under the
Telekinesis moniker, 2013's
Dormarion, found the one-man band enlisting the help of
Spoon drummer/producer
Jim Eno.
Lerner spent the next two years immersing himself in the world of vintage synths and keyboards in anticipation of the band's retro synth pop-heavy fourth studio album,
Ad Infinitum, which dropped in September 2015.
Lerner struck a balance between the clean electronic textures of
Ad Infinitum and the more organic approach of his earlier work on the album
Effluxion, released in February 2019. ~ Andrew Leahey