album of the week: 5.3

the telephones
Laugh, Cry, Sing... And Dance!!!
(2013)

why you'lll love it:  possibly the most fun album of 2013
why you'll hate it:  silly enough to embarrass you in public



Ever take on something ironically, and it eventually becomes part of your everyday life?  My friends started overzealously referring to pizza as "za", and over time, that's just what its called now.  There is no joke.  "za at 8?"  "OK"  Conversation over.

This is what the telephones has become.  What started as "I'm just going to keep these mp3s around to use at the right time, because its ridiculous." has blossomed into legit anticipation for the latest release.  And full credit goes to these guys.  I didn't just warm over to their Engrish soaked spazzy dance rock, relabeled as disco.  They constantly tuned their sound over the years, from album to album.  Sometimes crazy, sometimes wholesome, never entirely serious, and always struggling to stay fresh and fun.  I was strung along the whole way - rolled my eyes at first, later coming back to see when it will all go wrong; and now I'm fully in the congregation.

I didn't discover any kind of hidden genius about the band.  It's more of a revelation that these guys were never accidentally good. They're a talented band, utilizing the tricky art and talent of "dumb".  And I mean dumb in a good way.  Dumb like a Saints Row trailer.  Dumb like flushing a pie down the toilet.  Dumb like lampooning cheesy lo-budget 90 Japanese TV.  

There are lots of hi-energy rock songs in the first half of the album.  The Anamanaguchi like speed metal intro, "Congratulations!!!" is one of my favorites.  I also like the more synth heavy dance numbers; which are just as over the top in their own way as the punk songs.  "It's Alright To Dance" has such a stupid mid-90's rap-in-a-can bridge, only their "do anything, as long as it's fun" attitude lets them get away with it.

"DE.N.W.A" seems a bit too old to be included in the album, but damn if that isn't one of their best songs.  The only complaint I have about this album is the final track, "March For Peace".  With all the fun little tweaks they've made to their formula, the final track being this long ballad with a rising drums and crowd vocals is a bit too habitual for them.  "Four Guys From Saitama City" would have been a better closer, for its charm and inclusion of the whole band on vocals.

So yeah, I'm just outright saying it now.  the telephones is a great band! No excuses.  They do dumb right.