TELL are a Boston quartet led by longtime musician, writer, and novelist David Wildman. The band release their second album `Life In Reverse` this month which is lyrically awash with political overtures.
This new release follows the band`s debut album `Stir Crazy` which was created in the era of social distancing.
The album opens with ‘Owned’ and the intro is fairly reminiscent of R.E.M.`s 1987 hit `The One I Love` but that`s where the similarities end. It`s a story of how someone becomes wrapped up and dominated by a cult of one, according to the singer as he explains. “It could be Make America Great Again, or Jonestown, or just anyone that gives themselves completely to someone with a stronger personality than them, like a dominating spouse. In the end the protagonist concludes that he was happier that way. It rocks hard and you can dance to it! And the chorus is wide open catharsis as the singer rails against his own nature, ‘You were wrong, I will not be yours again.'” A fairly introspective piece with vocals that kind of mirror the acceptance of the situation shared. We have a mid-paced cautionary tale of woe shared in ‘Sweet Life,’ about somebody who threw away their life believing lies and drinking Ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug. There were some enjoyable expansive synth like keyboard tones throughout this number.
‘Shotgun Future’ is bass driven and an unsavoury tale of a teacher who tells kids they are welcome to bring their guns to school, unless they are ‘gay or trans or black,’ leading to a school shooting of a different kind. A stop start composition at times with some driving rhythmic drumming midway and a brief guitar solo on route. A groovy listen with a twisted conclusion. There`s some shimmering riffs on the reflective ‘Shell,’ which ponders on a way of life that seems to be driven to isolation and seclusion these days, shaped by society`s cultural changes .
‘I Wish I Could Believe in God’ is a contemplation of our own mortality, the fear surrounding it and almost a desire to be at one with those that believe there is something greater once we depart this mortal coil. The musical accompaniment kind of reflects the sentiment shared. The album closes on ‘Space Time Continuum’ a theoretical scientific construct proposed by Albert Einstein that could help explain the very fabric of our existence. The track is a fairly spacious sounding meditative number and a lyrically ruminative submission to check out on.
TELL`s `Life In Reverse` runs at around twenty four minutes so there`s no excuse not to give it an hour and play it twice. An interesting listen that has some catchy melodic tunes with thought provoking and at times ironic lyrics.
Rating 8.5/10
