Albums of the Year # 36 The Telephone Numbers - The Ballad Of Doug

 A really rather lovely bit of old school C-86 pop:

It's great to come across an album unexpectantly from someone you heard a song from a few months back, knew a long player was on the way but it slipped your mind hen exactly when it was scheduled. A case in point. San Francisco's The Telephone Numbers released the wonderful You're Nowhere some time in early 2021. As sweet and winsonme an old school Indie Pop song as you could want to hear this year or frankly any other year for that matter. Now they've come good on their promise of a full album, The Ballad of Doug and not a moment too soon.

This is music which sticks with almost religious purpose to its chosen peramaters. It is, as I've already state,d Indie Pop and its primary texts of inspiration and guidance were all recorded in the UK between 1984 and 1988. Felt, The Razorcuts, The Field Mice, Creation and Sarah Records. The C-86 compilation itself. Before My Bloody Valentine, one of the janglers original inner circle broke things wide open with You Made Me Realise and you could never with any creative integrity go back to doing the same thing, just as The Beatles changed forever the way people thought about and went about the album format.

The Telephone Numbers have somehow found their way back to The Garden before the fall. The Ballad of Doug might be by twee indie by numbers' but it's a .perfect pitch as to the validity of that approach. An altogether lovely record. Like finding yourself back in your bedroom in 1986 with your bowl headed pals, preparing to give Whole Wide World the debut single by The Soup Dragons a spin.

Diabetics and calorie fearers beware. This is highly sacharine from the off. Thomas Rubenstein, for he is the power behind The Telephone Numbers, has a voice that might make your toes curl if you're not pre-disposed towards this stuff. He's a master of his chosen form, like a maverick art forger who can dash off a Canaletto and a couple of Bellinis of your choice in an afternoon before knocking off for tea.

There's not a false note on the whole album. It does what you expect it to do, then continues to do what you expect it to do and gives anyone who still subscribes to this a warm and grateful glow before the needle clicks into the run out groove of Side B.. It's put me in a great mood for my Saturday. I'm going to sign off myself now. Make myself breakfast and watch Whistle Down The Wind, a film the makers of The Ballad of Doug would I'm sure wholly approve of. But I'll be back to this soon.