Long time readers of Swole Ear may remember my post about the other Telekinesis record. I’m too lazy to go back and check exactly what I said about that album, but I think it was something along the lines of “this is a good, albeit derivative, indie rock record.”
Honestly, I could just reuse that post, and it would fit perfectly with 12 Desperate Straight Lines. Telekinesis has done it again; the band has made yet another solid album, one that sounds like a million others already out there. That’s not to say that I love the band or its music any less.
“We fell in love in the Summer / by the Spring time we were done/ is it any wonder that I didn’t run?” sings Michael Benjamin in the first few seconds of You Turn Clear in the Sun, Straight Lines’ opening track. It’s a soft, fuzzy, warm little number that starts off the record in a manner very similar to the band’s other LP. No, these aren’t genius lyrics, and yeah, I’m probably doing my Swole Ear double-standard thing again, but I really like this band for whatever reason. It’s my attraction to melodrama shining through, I guess.
So is it a bad thing that a band made the exact same record twice? Is it a bad thing that I don’t care, and I like both of these records all the same? I think it’s a no to both of those questions. I know, I’ve written about how it’s cool to see a band’s sound evolve over the years, but I also love me some comfort music. That’s what we’ve got here. If you’re a hater, you’re bound to hate.
Swole Ear 
This is boring indie-by-the-numbers. There is soooo much better out there.