I Hope The Ghosts That Haunt Me Sound Like You
Poet's Tooth (album) by Tele Novella - Newer Music Friday
A little over a month ago, I went on my first “real” camping trip, a four-day romp in the beautiful forests of West Virginia. When it got dark, we would make a fire, desperately trying to keep it lit as the night went on. We shared scary stories when the fire went out, made sure to look at the beautiful sky where the stars felt brighter than ever before, and eventually fell asleep in our tents, exhausted from the day prior but excited for the new day that awaited. It is in this setting, in the chilly night of a beautiful outdoor location, that Tele Novella’s new album Poet’s Tooth lives to me, firmly in a place that you can remember vividly but most likely will never reach again.
The song that leads Poet’s Tooth, called “Young & Free” is a beautifully simple song that really lets its melody shine. And shine it does!! The rises and dips of the notes within it are some of the most perfectly controlled that I’ve heard in my whole life. Tele Novella isn’t afraid to add some candy though, and the small bells and shiny sounds throughout make this song an incredibly strong opener, one I personally had a very hard time leaving behind.
Another standout track for me is the third one, “Broomhorse”. This is a song that I felt the overwhelming need to show my friends, the type that I genuinely had on repeat for weeks when it was released as a single. “Broomhorse” is a magnificent auditory optical illusion, capturing the listeners’ minds effortlessly. I think of it as a better achievement of what The Beatles (read: John Lennon) tried to do with “Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite” off of Sgt. Pepper — the carnival-ly feeling of “Broomhorse” is much warmer, gives off a feeling of kindness that the former just doesn’t have. The bass is very prevalent in this song, adding a bounciness that drives it along well. Furthermore, it has silly conversational lyrics, admitting things such as “we didn’t pay the electric bill again” and “we’re two kids in a trenchcoat”. This type of personality is something I think is missing in a lot of music these days, and so I’m very happy to see it on full display in “Broomhorse”.
The song following, called “Eggs In One Basket”, is definitely a departure from the type of sound that the first three songs create. The beginning reminded me of “Clint Eastwood” by The Gorillaz, with the strong bassline and electric sounding drums, but it’s clear throughout the song that this is definitely Tele Novella! Having experience reading music, I just know that the melody of this song would be something I would have trouble sight-reading if it was given to me, but it is so smoothly mastered in this context that I’m just in total awe. As soon as I heard this song, I just knew it was the type that skeletons would dance to in a claymation halloween movie, which is a big green flag for me!
I’ll take this moment to mention something that I noticed and really enjoyed throughout the album, and that is the prevalence of the wooden block. The wooden block, a sadly underused instrument is used in not one, not two, but THREE of the songs on Poet’s Tooth! I mention it here because I noticed it most in “Eggs In One Basket”, but you can also hear it in “Broomhorse” and “Vampire Cowgirl”. So thank you, Tele Novella, for elevating the wooden block and utilizing it in such cool ways. Sincerely, the wooden block’s biggest fan.
You probably read the last paragraph and said “Vampire Cowgirl? That’s a pretty cool name for a song.” That’s crazy, because that’s almost EXACTLY what I said when I saw it for the first time! (Let’s be honest though, “Vampire Cowgirl” isn’t just a pretty cool name for a song, it’s actually the coolest.) And yes, it does live up to its name. Something I love about this song is the tone of the guitar. For some reason, whenever it strums, I feel like it’s saying “yeah, that’s right”, agreeing with the vivid story being spun with the lyrics.
Whatever could follow a song with the name “Vampire Cowgirl”? Oh yeah, it’s just a song called “The Unicorn”. Yes, you read that right! Every song on this album is impeccably named but I just think that particular sequence is super cool. “The Unicorn” is a prime example of a sparkle song, one that adds more and more small, shiny details as it goes on. It takes you right back to the carnival that “Broomhorse” took place in, except it’s nighttime now, and all the lights are on, piercing the darkness with color and pinpricks of brightness.
If “The Unicorn” takes you back to the carnival, then “Rodeo Clown” takes you back to the rural outdoor night that “Young & Free” opened in. But while “The Unicorn” displays a night filled with color, “Rodeo Clown” reveals a more somber style of night. It’s a painfully emotional song, one that you can feel through the music as it swells and builds, only to bring itself back again and again. The instrumental of the song is at the perfect level to accompany the feeling of the lyrics. While I thought every lyric of the song was beautifully poetic, I just couldn’t stop thinking of “Every little Texas town has a rodeo clown/Is that me?/What I am to you?” That’s the type of rare lyric that when combined with the right musicality (which Tele Novella certainly has), gives you a physical feeling, which one of the most powerful things a song can do.
Poet’s Tooth is without a doubt an October album. Yes, obviously part of this is because it was released in October. But Poet’s Tooth fits perfectly with the color orange, falling leaves, and sweater weather. When I put this album on for the first time, the distant wind beneath “Young & Free” caused me to visualize Tele Novella as ghosts, singing and playing their ghostly time away. In this time close to Halloween, I’m sure plenty of ghosts are ready to find people to latch onto. All I can say is that if the ghosts that haunt me sound like Tele Novella, then I welcome them with open arms.
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