Fans of mysterious pagan folk, angst-ridden electro-pop, industrial ballads and sexy funk that out-smuts Prince in a creepy Twin Peaks setting, rejoice. Local “sex man that makes pop songs” Jonny Telafone has a new vinyl EP that covers all of these bases. It doesn’t stop there, with the more extensive CD version of Telafone’s debut for Chapter Music cherry-picking a wide variety of two-minute tracks from his stack of home recordings, most of it originally released through Canberra’s Dream Damage label.
‘Eclectic’ doesn’t even begin to cover it, though the big surprise is how listenable it is and how well it hangs together as a collection. Just as the scattershot piss-taking starts to wear thin, earthier guitar numbers like Drowning In The Lake and Until My Lungs Explode offer a more substantial counterpart to the madness.
But this is not someone that is making music to give a sense of balance. Telafone rips through various genres with abandon, making it hard to pin him down, though it’s a collection that brings to mind DIY tricksters like Chris Knox and Stephin Merritt in their earlier years. Twenty tracks is a lot of ground to cover and a handful of these short songs don’t allow themselves enough time to hit their mark, but there’s never a dull moment.
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
Best Track: Burning Hot Like Jesus Was
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Infiniheart CHAD VANGAALEN, A Collection Of Rarities And Previously Released Material JOHN MAUS
In A Word: Jon-of-all-trades
