'Get On', the opening song on Tellison’s second album proper, 'The Wages of Fear', appears to be partially about writer’s block...which is strange considering that the collection of songs the band have presented here are comfortably the best that they have ever produced.
With 'The Wages of Fear', Tellison have easily surpassed their previous releases. Where 2007’s 'Contact! Contact' was occasionally clunky and indistinctive, 'The Wages of Fear' bristles with the individuality. Despite the occasional lapses into fairly generic indie rock territory, Tellison have produced a work here that is both wonderfully charming and more than a little catchy. The likes of 'Collarbone' and 'Say Silence (Heaven & Earth)' should appeal equally to fans Tubelord and Futures-era Jimmy Eat World. Spiky riffs dominate most of the album, with the contrasts between the heavier moments and the lulls accentuating the sense of heartfelt urgency that pervades.
Indeed the main problem with this record is that Tellison are too good at what they do. On this album they’ve perfected their songcraft to the extent that, if you’re not really listening closely, things may blend together a bit. There are occasional changes of pace, such as on the gorgeous closer 'My Wife’s Grave is in Paris', but this is a record on which Tellison have taken their strengths and run with them. Certainly variety isn’t exactly top of the list here. This is no bad thing but it does mean that, if you’re not grabbed within the first five minutes then you’re certainly not going to be grabbed thirty-seven minutes later.
This shouldn’t take away from the progress that Tellison have achieved here however. Don’t go thinking that this is just a casually inoffensive and pleasing record that doesn’t have any backbone. It does. The lyrics have a joyous tendency to give you a warm fuzzy feeling inside and you really feel that vocalist Stephen Davidson’s words are words laced with sincerity. Musically it’s unspectacular but it doesn’t need to be anything more. There are no points on this album where you feel like you’re missing a guitar solo, or a prominent piano part or even just that little bit more distortion. 'The Wages of Fear' is a gloriously enjoyable record and, more importantly, it’s a record of immense warmth that reaches straight for your heart. Listening to this record feels good and, when all is said and done, how can you write off an album that does that?
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'Get On', the opening song on Tellison’s second album proper, 'The Wages of Fear', appears to be partially about writer’s block...which is strange considering that the collection of songs the band have presented here are comfortably the best that they have ever produced.
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