Telecast

by Jenny Bennett

It’s not often that you come across an album that’s as in-your-face with Jesus references as Telecast’s third studio project Quiet Revolution, yet doesn’t sound like anything you’d ever hear at church. Funny enough, the lead singer is a pastor. 

Mellow but not acoustic, pop but not bubblegum, interestingly arranged yet easy on the ears, these songs are really worth a listen for fans of piano-driven pop with a bit of an edge. The harmonies are pretty and the guitar and piano lines melodic, so the edge lies in the way the arrangements present the songs to the listener, that is to say, originally and creatively.

The entire album is easy to digest, but a few tracks stand out above the others.

Starting off up-tempo with All Around Me and Come Down, I’d add the former to my shuffle if I had to choose. It has not one, but two hooks (I can feel you all around me and Jesus I love you) and sticks with me in a more meaningful way.

Impossible Possibility has impressive vocals and makes interesting use of something toy piano-like, but is mostly underwhelming otherwise.

Beautiful Mystery has a driving piano line that works well with the strong spiritual message; next up is the guitar-driven Enclosed By You providing a bit of welcome contrast. Like All Around Me, the female harmony part is also particularly notable on the song.

All That You Are features a bit of electronica added to the vocals (think a male version of Imogen Heap) but doesn’t pick up in quite the way I’d hoped from the beginning which had something soft yet somehow gritty enough to make you listen closely. It’s a good song but a bit on the slow side. I wouldn’t have mentioned the project closer Infinite Worth (again, not a song I dislike in any way) except to say that it rewarded me for listening through to the end with some brass instrumentation that adds a really nice touch.

The album’s most significant attribute is that its overt purpose – “to be as Jesus-focused as possible” – is accomplished in a highly artful way.

BEC Recordings' Telecast page
MySpace

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