Teleman - Family of Aliens

Teleman are a four piece English band who play synth and guitar driven Pop music with an indie slant of the sort that The Teardrop Explodes and Ultravox might have come up with if they had formed a band together towards the end of the seventies, shed their more Psychedelic and grandiose instincts and taken a more production line approach to their art.

The other bands worth mentioning as formative influences are probably Kraftwerk and Orchestral Manoueveres in the Dark. Teleman's music gives you the impression that it was initially concocted in boardrooms and chemistry laboratories. It's glacial and cool but it's always possible to detect a beating heartbeat at the core of things.

Family of Aliens their new record and third full album in all in four years sticks fairly firmly to the formula established by their previous records. Essentially, their instinct is generally towards melodic Pop and if they showed signs of taking a rather more experimental and left field approach with their Funf EP of last year, they've generally curbed those instincts on Family of Aliens to veer back to the essence of their back catalogue. 

So, the most damning adjective which might apply is prosaic, and sometimes the record crosses into that territory, a kinder description would be poised or clinical. Where the record crosses over to the more risky way of things with the treated vocals of Submarine Life it feels only partially successful.

So while Family of Aliens is not the minor masterpiece that Teleman might still be capable of, it's still a record packed full of very fine tunes. And that's probably more than enough. Not many bands can occupy the spot that they have made for themselves, midway between art and commerce. While never quite setting the night on fire, they kindle a small, vaguely melancholic but always attractive flame.