The Telescopes are a shoegaze and noise rock outfit hailing from England who have been at it since the late ‘80s. Since forming, they’ve dabbled in a myriad of other sounds ranging from the downtempo of their third album to the Metal Machine Music-esque feedback barrages of Infinite Suns.
On February 1, the band will release its 10th studio album, Exploding Head Syndrome, via Tapete Records. This new album comes on the heels of 2017’s Stone Tape and As Light Return, two of The Telescopes’ droniest efforts to date. Exploding Head Syndrome is, in contrast, a much more song-oriented work and was created almost entirely by frontman Stephen Lawrie on his own. The one exception being the track we’re premiering today, which has a co-writing credit going to fellow guitarist/vocalist Chris Plavidal.
“Until the End” forecasts something much easier-going than the outfit’s first two entries in the Tapete catalog. This track in particular even has a hypnagogic quality to it, in the same vein as John Maus’ take on pop. The quite ＡＥＳＴＨＥＴＩＣ visuals courtesy of Little Lens Video further suggest that potential reference point, though admittedly Lawrie tends to bury his voice much deeper into the mix than Maus does. And most importantly, the instrumental palette here remains rooted in The Telescopes’ brand of shoegaze.
The seven remaining tracks on Exploding Head Syndrome have a bit more bite to them, but if you’ve been wanting to hear The Telescopes mellow out a bit or if you’re simply big on dream pop, do give this song and video a shot. Hope you dig it!