Michael Lerner, World. World, Michael Lerner.

I’m not going to beat around the bush on this one. This is the first studio release from Telekinesis. Telekinesis is Michael Lerner. Michael Lerner is Telekinesis. Kind of like “Finkle is Einhorn, Einhorn is Finkle”. Only less gender issues and to my knowledge, no laces were taken into consideration in the making of this album.

First releases can be a little rough around the edges. That isn’t necessarily a deal breaker, nor should it be. This album is no exception to roughage. It’s the potential it holds, that caught my attention from the beginning.

I stumbled upon this little gem by accident. I was digging through the many upcoming releases and found that the wonderful people at Merge Records¹ were releasing a follow up to the 2009 release Telekinesis! I happened to be lucky enough to hear a track from the new album. Surprised by what I heard, I ventured into the realm of unknown and reeled this in. Having heard only one track from them/him, I took a chance.

My excitement for this album applies on a few different levels.

The idea of someone with the aptitude and passion for music, but lacking the ensemble to take to the circuit that is “the music scene”, stepping up and delivering on their own is thrilling to me. It takes a great amount of testicular fortitude to blindly embark on such an undertaking. On top of the tactic taken to produce this, the album was recorded on analog tape one song per day. That throwback attitude and marathon should be admired. Some may be quick to judge, since wrote these songs about primarily Japan. Even though when the songs were written he had never been there.  Thus, “I went to Tokyo…only in my dreams…”

Another reason to get excited about, and check out, this album is because there seems to be a dry spell for this particular type of sound. I get a real “Shins” vibe from them and I have been longing for that sound! The album came to life with the assistance of Chris Walla. Being the guitarist for Death Cab For Cutie his abilities have been proven. So for a freshman album, it’s not a bad approach to enlist such knowledge.

From beginning to end the album has some serious range. It is well suited for those on a 12 hour energy drink binge as well as those who are looking for some mellow background music. Compiled beginning to end you start high and end with less “hyper kid with a guitar”. Musically there is a lot here. Telekinesis! makes for wonderful background music – I’m hanging on to this with great anticipation for what is to come.

1. Merge Records is a great label. I HIGHLY recommend checking out their artists.  They have released albums with Arcade Fire, Camera Obscura, She & Him, Spoon, and Superchunk.