From the ruble of yet another broken relationship (recall Stu McLamb’s The Love Language) comes the sophomore album of one-man-show, Telekinesis. A year following his debut, Telekinesis!, Michael Benjamin Lerner has dusted the dirt off his back to deliver 12 equally catchy pop jams in 12 Desperate Straight Lines. Yet the acrimony lingers.
As you’d expect from any band formed in the wake of an ugly breakup, this album like the last is heaving with bitterness and a sort of despondency that echoes through the lyrics and is ever present in tracks like “50 Ways” and “Fever Chill.” The melodies are consistently hooky and sunny in a way that ironically makes a beautiful contrast with the lyrics. “We fell in love in the summer/by the spring time we were done/is it any wonder that I didn’t run?/and though I’m out of equations to tell you what when wrong/ I can see straight through you/you turn clear in the sun” open the album and establish its territory; Lerner isn’t over it and probably won’t be for some time.
The highlights of the album are easily “Please Ask For Help,” “Dirty Thing,” and “Car Crash.” Despite lyrics embittered lyrics like “Love comes and goes/and everything flows till you feel so lonely/you still feel so broken/it’s a chemical reaction/based on attraction,” 12 Desperate Straight Lines has the same kind of worriless atmosphere as a poolside day in the ‘90s. It’s got just enough pop and fizz to catch your attention and just enough rough-edge and fuzz to keep you from going crazy.
-Witler
Tracklist
1. You Turn Clear In the Sun
2. Please Ask For Help
3. 50 Ways
4. I Cannot Love You
5. Dirty Thing
6. Car Crash
7. Palm of Your Hand
8. I Got You
9. Fever Chill
10. Country Lane
11. Patterns
12. Gotta Get It Right Now
