Surprise! Even though the world seems to be full of almost exclusively bad surprises these days, we’re thrilled to be sharing a rare bit of unexpected news that’s actually not terrifying or soul-crushing. In fact, we think the term that describes this particular surprise is “good.” (Yeah, that sounds right…good.)
Thursday morning, Telethon—a geographically scattered “hard pop” outfit that originated in Milwaukee, where some members still live—released a surprise full-length album. The 11-track Suburban Electric is the long-awaited follow-up to 2021’s Swim Out Past The Breakers. However, vocalist Kevin Tully calls the release “a spiritual sequel” to 2018’s Modern Abrasive, an EP rife with songs written from the perspective of external characters.
“I’m still very in my own head, but I just feel like I don’t want to write about that stuff directly as much anymore,” Tully tells Milwaukee Record. “So I just kind of started writing down ideas and observations about people and places and activities, and fleshing out characters from those observations. Then, at times I’d pepper in little things from my own life.”
Over the course of the near-40-minute album, Tully’s lyrics take the form of testimonials from imagined individuals like struggling actor who fancies himself a Sterling Hayden type, a bored senior who has seen enough in life, a guy who builds a time machine (and his neighbor), an exorcist who goes away on business, and “a guy who let things get away from him a bit.” The expansive scope of song subjects is more-than-matched musically, as the band not only applies its usual layers of operatic power pop to the mix, they actually build on the instrumentation employed on past releases. Suburban Electric showcases remarkable guitar and keyboard flourishes from Jack Sibilski and “Gene Jacket,” respectively. Meanwhile, drummer Erik Atwell and bassist Alex Meylink—who recorded the album at their Stillwave Studios—keep the rhythm section airtight and thumping throughout, as Tully’s patented voice and perspective serve as the cherry on top.
The songs were tracked between July and December of last year. Beyond the Telethon member contributions, Brooklyn-based composer Peter Hess added orchestral arrangements to portions of the homespun album. From there, Jack Shirley at the Atomic Garden (who routinely works with Deafheaven and Jeff Rosenstock on their albums) mixed and mastered it.
Suburban Electric was abruptly released on Bandcamp this morning, and is set to hit other streaming services on Friday, March 7. The album is also being released on the band’s Halloween Records label on both vinyl and cassette. Pre-orders are now live. Telethon’s new album might be a surprise, but the fact it rules isn’t shocking whatsoever. Give it a listen now!
