If
Teleman's debut album,
Breakfast, found Thomas and Jonny Sanders and Pete Cattermoul branching out after their time in
Pete & the Pirates, then
Brilliant Sanity is all about refinement. Working with producer Dan Carey, the men of
Teleman (who also include drummer Hiro Amamiya) focused
Breakfast's airy pop and chugging rock into songs that are honed, but not necessarily tamed. The results are quirky yet classic-sounding English guitar pop full of a nervy essence and hooks that sneak up on listeners' ears and stay there. On the wonderfully insistent "Superglue," Thomas Sanders sounds equally detached and emotional as he sings about the eternal tug-of-war between freedom and constraints that defines relationships -- and pop music. "Glory Hallelujah"'s "happy ever after" feels both genuine and ironic, while "Drop Out" stealthily cuts all ties, capturing the giddy rush of escaping commitment's gravity. There's a similar weightlessness to "English Architecture"'s sweet ambivalence, "Melrose"'s levitating synths, and "Tangerine"'s psychedelic synth pop daydreams, but the sense of loss -- or something missing -- gives
Brilliant Sanity's drift a surprising amount of purpose. Once again,
Teleman's sharpened songwriting allows the haunting moods beneath the cheery melodies to cut more deeply, with odd yet potent motifs (glue, shoes, flickering lights) guiding their meditations on permanence and impermanence. The times the band addresses these feelings directly are among the album's most affecting moments: "Düsseldorf"'s melting ice, grey towns, and disappearing girls linger in the memory longer than might be expected, while "Fall in Time"'s battle between intimacy and fear is both eerie and earnest. While
Breakfast's amiable ambling is sometimes missed -- "Canvas Shoe" is the closest this album comes to it -- it's hard to deny that
Teleman's hard work paid off:
Brilliant Sanity's musings on uncertainty are some of their most confident songs yet. ~ Heather Phares