Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Earth Telephone, Loss, 2017

EP Review

Earth Telephone, the PA/NJ quartet of Christopher Diehm (vocals / guitar), Maxwell Stern (guitar / vocals), Eric James Guy Friedman (bass / vocals), and Biff Swenson (drums), released Loss back in October. The EP covers sounds that range from pop punk and emo to less-aggressive indie rock. Over at their Bandcamp page, the band write, "On this five song EP, Earth Telephone explore the thematic weigh-stations of extreme personal loss."

Opener "Patience / Token / Prayer," with its aggressive guitar, Diehm's vocal delivery, and lines like "I'm ashamed for waving my skinny arms to god / like she's there, like she really even cares," is angry; but there's also a sense of denial with lyrics like "no one deserves this less than you" or  angry bargaining with "There's no end to the list of people I'd replace you with in death."

There are images of depression: "All this information hits me like a brick wall / and I think that I would much prefer a soft transfusion" on "28th Division" or "You're under well-worn comforters / sleeping off the last two days / beneath a pile of dogs / in a room of his things / that you can't throw away" on the title track. But the pervasive feeling on Loss is acceptance. "You are a resonating presence / Pervasive apparition glowing in my room" on "Pops," the simple "And that is all" that ends "Shores," and "Know we are with you" as the strings swell on "Loss."

There are five songs on Loss, and there are five stages of grief. The misconception about those stages, though, is that people move through them in some kind of pre-defined sequence. In reality, we bounce among those stages moment by moment and day by day even after we've reached "acceptance." Earth Telephone capture that with the raw and emotional Loss. You can get it over at their Bandcamp page.

2 comments :

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    1. I knew that, of course, but went with the way he’s credited at the website. Fixed. Thanks.

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