Last week, I reviewed an album and gave it high marks because I knew what the artist was trying to achieve. It was difficult, but commendable. I was surprised with how good it was because of all the things that could have gone wrong. Telekinesis’s album Dormarion receives high praise because it is simply surprisingly good. This is the third album from Seattle native Michael Benjamin Lerner. He uses lead melodies that are different, without being different for the sake of being different, if that makes sense. Even the seemingly simple four-chord guitar songs have little surprises in tempo shifts, and subtle solos. Hopping pop songs like Lean on Me get balanced by the lovely arrangements found in Ghosts and Creatures. Joined with these well produced tracks are some throwbacks to the retro single track recordings. Power Lines even opens with some audible mouse clicks (presumably to lyrics or chord charts) and the meow of a lingering cat.
Every song is enjoyable and a good number of them can be found on the Youtubes. This is another indicator of a confident, proactive musician. There are some bands that are completely unknown, make it impossible to sample their music and then when you finally find it or spend a dollar to demo a track, its just not all that nor a bag of potato chips. Telekinesis is not this type of music act. More surprises, when performing live, Lerner will take to the drums and sing, instead of the stereotypical singer/guitar set-up.
I’m trying really hard, and I can’t come up with a single criticism of the band. Even as a live act, every person is pulling their weight. How rare is it these days to find an act where all four people sing and play an instrument. I have no complaints here, so I will keep it brief. Buy it. They deserve your money.
