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Related Reviews

HiFi Choice
5 Stars
"intelligent songwriting that mixes distinct melodies with jangly guitar accompaniments"
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MOJO Magazine
3 Stars
"unabashedly melodic, sensitively anthemic pop-punk...an impressive second statement"
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rock-generation.co.uk
"This could be the perfect indie rock album of the year.”
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musicalmathematics.co.uk
"a new Tellison with an enlarged sense of musical self and a heightened penchant for melody"
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One Beat
"brimming from start to finish with catchy songs that could easily soundtrack a summer."
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stereoboard.com
4 Stars
"the collection of songs the band have presented here are comfortably the best that they have ever produced."
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thefourohfive.com
4½ Stars
"Tellison have always been a band close to my heart, and with the songs on The Wages Of Fear, it's actually getting a little dangerous how near they are to piercing it...."
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alerttheaudience.co.uk
"with ever-changing, unpredictable musical directions...Tellison has a lot of future potential."
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southsonic.co.uk
4 Stars
"packed with memorable moments of dynamic change and air punching infectiousness...The Wages of Fear is a future classic."
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Surrey Advertiser
"filled to the brim with fun, intelligence, melody, beauty and sadness"
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247 Magazine
4 Stars
"Tellison's second album is destined for good things..."
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decibelsoup.com
4 Stars
"coated with promise, fun and intelligence throughout."
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theskinny.co.uk
3 Stars
"Factor in Collarbone’s left-field lyrics and medulla-penetrating infectiousness and you’re left with an oddly lovable slice of sunshine and sadness."
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thisisfakediy.co.uk
4 Stars
"without a shadow of a doubt, one of the albums of the year."
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deadpress.co.uk
4 Stars
"if you want an album that is full of good, happy and well-written songs, then this is the album for you."
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Torquay Herald Express
"Bright, intelligent, fresh-faced guitar pop. Good songs aplenty here."
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Total Guitar Magazine
3 Stars
"slick production,solid song structures and swoony choruses"
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Kerrang! Magazine
4 Stars
"it took a long time but the wait is well worth it"
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RedHotVelvet.co.uk
5 Stars
"musical depth that is seldom heard from Britain’s indie bands."
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The Fly Magazine
"more mature...relentlessly energetic"
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Art Rocker
3 Stars
"a bustling, anthemic album"
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Southsonic.co.uk
4 Stars
'the concept of the difficult second album has been blown out of the water. The Wages of Fear is a future classic.'
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Subba-cultcha.com
4 Stars
'Turn up the volume, stick your head out of a moving car window, close your eyes and smile like a cheshire cat'
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punktastic.com
5 Stars
'not only one of the best indie-pop albums to arise out of the UK scene in years, it could seriously be one of the best records of 2011'
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NARC Magazine
"super-catchy, feel good guitar-led anthems...with massive hooks and infectious choruses"
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The Crack
"taut guitar riffs, reflective lyrics and memorable choruses."
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Shakenstir.co.uk
3½ Stars
'powerful rhythms, strong and clear vocals with instrumental performances that clearly underline the band’s rock credentials'
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Getreadytorock.com
3 Stars
'it's a powerful and accomplished signal of intent that should more than satisfy'
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Alterthepress.com
4½ Stars
'Oh my. What an album..consistently solid and unleashes track after track of carefully crafted indie-pop song-writing'
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Virgin.com/music
'instantaneously refreshing for listeners new or old. Anthemic lyrics, killer kick drums and sharp guitar riffs, one of the year’s finest offerings'
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Front Mag
3½ Stars
"in the right hands, indie can still rock like a pissed-up angry pirate as these noisy London chimps prove" 3/5
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Big Cheese Magazine
4 Stars
"an album which proves Tellison are a band to be reckoned with" 4/5
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morethanthemusic.co.uk
“Credit where credit is due, Tellison have made an excellent record here"
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Rock Sound Magazine
4½ Stars
"fantastic...the entire album is packed with forthright songwriting and great ideas" 9/10
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Roomthirteen.com
'a thick slice of driving and impassioned indie-rock that'll be swirling round your head for days'
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Kerrang! The Playlist
"There's only one thing that will get this video of the Tellison men dressed in swimming costumes out of your head - this brilliant tune!"
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NME Magazine
"With a singalong chorus that grabs through your chest to your heart and gives it a little squeeze, London's Tellison are doing what they do best"
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Q Magazine
"a summery haze of sing-a-long vocals and buoyant drums...magic"
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Tellison on Alternative Vision


10 June 2011
alternativevision.co.uk
Lauren Mullineaux
4½ Stars

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW ON ALTERNATIVE VISION

  London's own Tellison kicked-off big style in 2007 with their critically acclaimed and, more importantly, infectious debut album Contact! Contact! Now back to slay us all over again their hook-laden pop-rock returns on album number two; The Wages Of Fear.

The thing that first strikes you about Tellison is that they are in fact a British band singing in their god given British accents, it's a simple thing I know, but in this day and age it's rather rare and it makes Tellison so bloody good. They sound natural, charming, and even a little sophisticated.

Stephen Davidsons' voice is as ever a note perfect guide through the emotionally electric earth Tellison's music inhabits. His voice doesn't have much range, but the places it does go are juvenile and pure; it's hard to hate. This energy and passion are reflected in the lyrical content of every single song "my life's not much like a novel, because I can't find someone that's worth real sacrifice" they slip in and out of chorus and verse like no other band around. It's seamless.

First single ‘Collarbone' is a quick and easy classic. Sharp punchy guitars halt themselves for a whispery almost choral series of ‘oh-a-oh-oh-a-oh's'. Three minutes of escape is what this band is best at, but any song on The Wages of Fear could be a single. Tellison just don't do filler.

The best word to describe this band has to be cheeky. They slip references to each other into songs purely because they can, on ‘Horses' you'll notice the famous Henry gets another mention "it was a bad time of year for it Henry had gone back to Boston" and yet this a very serious song with the brilliant line "oh how the world still loves a cage."Contact! Contact! was an insidiously fun record, this isn't so much fun this is the grown-up sophomore record and they haven't slumped yet.

In the wake of Everything Everything this album will get much more widespread recognition than did their debut and they deserve all the praise they get. Even the softer songs here are brimming with energy and the chant of "I'm a cold young man, I don't mean anything" on ‘Tell It To Thebes' feels so real.

A band as incessantly catchy as Tellison could easily stray into annoying or clichéand yet somehow they avoid this always remaining cool and confident. With this very assured second album their personal brand of almost-art-pop will propel them into the mainstream and you better be ready to forget everything you thought you knew about pop-music.


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