Where has this been all my life? The undergraduate version of me would have loved this (and, this version of me did too).
Television are New York based, another graduate of the CBGB venue, and they’re another one of those bands classed as “post-punk” before there’s really been a punk period, “new wave” before there’s been a “wave”. These are horrible labels, really, as they define a genre according to how it relates to another genre, rather than for it's own sound.
To me, they have a lot in common with Nineties Indie, and according to Wikipedia this album was cited as a favourite by Mark Radcliffe and Marc “Lard” Riley, important players in the Nineties Indie scene. What I can’t work out, however, is who they remind me of specifically. They’re cited as influences by bands as wide-ranging as Sonic Youth, REM, and U2, but it’s not any of them. I can hear a bit of John Squire (Stone Roses/Seahorses) or Andy Bell (Ride/Hurricane No 1). Maybe it’ll come to me.
The tracks tend to be based around a guitar hook, with founders Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine both doing guitar duty, overlaid with Verlaine’s lyrics that tread the fine line between poetic and catchy with deft skill. The longer tracks evolve into some great guitar soloing that feels much more modern than the widdly-diddly Seventies work inspired by Jimmy Page and his ilk. Torn Curtain is a great example of this, as is the lengthy Marquee Moon that has some great high and low structure to it. The shorter tracks are all pretty good as well.
I’m sticking this on the “keeper” pile.
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