A guy who was shoegaze before that term was coined, Stephen Lawrie is one of those legends who never gets enough attention. His newest record with his band, The Telescopes, continues the group's recent trend of releases which sound like the results of a bad trip, or a cure for one. And that's not an insult, frankly.
Static Charge opens with the down-tempo vamp of "White Noise", a number with bad intent and an actual hook. Lawrie mumbles his way forward, and effect is like the Primals' "Higher than The Sun" but more of a lament than celebration. The extraordinary "Still Nothing" is like Isn't Anything-era MBV only slowed to a crawl. It's one of many tracks on Static Charge which drapes itself in airs of cheap desolation the way a courtesan in an old book would layer on the perfume. It's a slouch we can hear and I love it. There's a hint of something tender in the hook of "Revolutionary Blues" but Lawrie smothers it. That's not necessarily a bad way to go, as the cut barely holds together, with the airy vocals and deliberate guitar notes hanging together very delicately. It's all mood, and one of the highlights here.
It would have been easy for Stephen Lawrie to crank things up and ride the current shoegaze revival wave. But to his credit he continues to pursue his own unique muse with The Telescopes. The albums he's made in the last decade are stunningly desolate, each flirting with a kind of drugged-out vibe that could be considerably off-putting for those who liked this band's early stuff. Still, the approach works, and if you're in the right mood, or medicated maybe, Static Charge will soothe your ears and draw you in. It's a miasma of bad vibes, but engaging in its own dark way.
Static Charge by The Telescopes is out now via Tapete.
[Photo: Sophie Bentley]