The Telescopes – ‘Growing Eyes Becoming String’ album review: droning and repetitive, in the best way
THE SKINNY: Over a decade ago, The Telescopes ventured to Berlin to create Growing Eyes Becoming String, a slightly more melodic endeavour than the noise rock output they were known for, though it would still retain their commitment to experimentation and improvisation. It was recorded in a studio at the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s new studio, which was gradually being built around them, and the band’s influence can most certainly be felt.
As their surroundings grew in size and standard, so did their sound, but their progress was swiftly halted by the unreliability of tech. An unfortunate mishap with a hard drive led the band of creatives to believe that their sprawling compositions had been lost forever. As if it were a blessing in disguise, the album resurfaced years later amidst a boomed interest in shoegaze, psych and kraut, which primes the record for a cult following in the contemporary alternative scene.
Growing Eyes Becoming String is a dreary record in the most complimentary way. Its instrumentation drones, repeats, screeches and entrances in equal measure, with only Lawrie’s vocals to hold onto. It has absolutely no concern with genre, finding its own way no matter how treacherous the path may be, a sentiment Lawrie echoed while talking about the making of the record.
“The objective with both sessions was to go in blind and be entirely in the moment,” he explained, “There were no preconceived ideas. Everything was written as it went along. Much like the drive to Berlin with almost zero visibility, we were relying on the heightened instinct of being entirely in the now.”
“Loaded with guitars, noise and melody, swirling around pounding repetition, Growing Eyes Becoming String is a more vocal document of where The Telescopes’ head was at during that time,” he concluded. It’s a perfect description of Growing Eyes Becoming String, which whirls and whirrs in equal measure, always unapologetically. It’s an album to get lost in on dark, dismal nights while seeking out comfort and contemplation.
For fans of: Heavy rainfall, disregard for genre, full-blown immersion
A concluding comment from Tom’s mum: “I don’t think the girls at the community centre would be up for a dance to this.”
Growing Eyes Becoming String track by track:
Release date: 9th February | Label: Fuzz Club
‘Vanishing Lines’: Mirroring the studio it was made in, the opening track to Growing Eyes Becoming String builds as it goes. It’s a sprawling, kraut collage of droning repetition and occasional screeches of feedback, eerie in its intent. (4/5)
‘(In The) Hidden Fields’: The Telescopes find their groove in the midst of the hidden fields, a track that’s just as repetitive and entrancing as its predecessor but infused with a little more movement. (3.5/5)
‘Dead Head Lights’: The influence of psych comes to the forefront in the foreboding ‘Dead Head Lights’, which offsets any respite its steady Mazzy Star-esque tambourines might provide with impossibly deep vocal delivery. Between guitar twangs, percussive chimes and the increasingly familiar sound of feedback, Lawrie’s words are shadowy and dark. (3.5/5)
‘We Carry Along’: Immersion has become the norm by the record’s midpoint, so ‘We Carry Along’ almost seems sparse. It’s contemplative and calm, shrugging off weighty observations with the titular reassurance, “We carry along.” A 30-second long outro plunges the record into its thinnest moments, as samples of thunder are almost made to seem quiet. (4/5)
‘Get Out of Me’: The Telescopes return to drones and dissonance in full force on ‘Get Out of Me’, which proves to be another slow build. A dreary intro eventually fades into indistinguishable shrieks between vocals and guitar feedback, though the song never loses its initial refrain. (3/5)
‘What You Love’: Though it’s underscored by characteristic whirs and helicopter-like hums, ‘What You Love’ is one of the softer songs on the album, veering further into dreamy shoegaze than psych. Vocals take the focus as Lawrie reflects on the inescapability of love, with the same sense of doom and gloom that pervades all of Growing Eyes Becoming String. (3.5/5)
‘There Is No Shore’: The final entry on Growing Eyes Becoming String is also the longest, though only by a second. But every second counts on ‘There Is No Shore’, culminating in their psychedelic drones and endless layers of experimentation and improvisation. (3/5)
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