Telophase - Possessions

Telophase

Possessions
self-released; 2020

​3.5 out of 5

By Dan Weston

Telophase is an artist from Fresno, California who recently released Possesions. He explains that “From the get-go, this EP can be best described as a ‘small parcel of mixed socks’.’’ It’s a complete DIY effort and New Order, OMD, Interpol, The Cure, and LCD Soundsystem were some of his influences.

The first song is entitled “Asymmetric” and this reminded me of Joy Division rather than New Order. It’s a dark song with those similar types of drums you heard on an album like Closer. The song is a slow burn and is very repetitive or perhaps hypnotic. I liked the groove. The vocals are so covered in hall reverb I couldn’t make out a single word. There are some issues with him staying in key which the reverb actually enhances.

On “The Empty Sea” we have a lot less reverb and you can hear the words this time around. It’s a six-plus-minute song with not many twists and turns. There are points where the snare is so loud it takes over the song.

“Subsistence” contains a unique blend of sounds, especially percussive elements. I liked the change in mood and thought this song might have been the highlight. “Sound Of Waves” has its moments as well. There are some catchy vocal melodies on this song. He closes with “Petrichor” which explores different soundscapes and contains some inventive sound design.

​As an engineer myself I think this is definitely an area in which he would benefit from learning more about or teaming up with an engineer who can help with some of the more technical issues and deal with things like compression, reverb tails, M/S signal, limiting and EQ. The artist is a young guy even by looking at that blurry picture on Bandcamp. I think this is a solid start. It’s cool to know a younger generation is listening to a lot of the same music which I grew up with. I look forward to hearing him and listening to more of his work in the not too distant future.

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