English Teacher - This Could Be Texas
Indie Rock – Released April 12, 2024 – 13 songs, 50 mins
ROZ
One of my favourite things about reviewing music is uncovering a totally new artist and tracking their progress as they develop and grow. Have you ever daydreamed of seeing an artist you enjoy before they ‘made it big’? One of those artists that you catch on some smaller, more intimate venue before they ultimately head to a much larger stage? I’ve experienced it firsthand a few times in my life and I hope I feel it many more, hell maybe next time it’ll be with this week’s band. This week, TSR reviews the British band English Teacher and their debut studio album This Could Be Texas. Students, class is in session. Please take your seats.
There’s nothing more wholesome than seeing an artist or band shed its skin and become something more. From a life of rural sensibilities to a larger, more complicated world of new perspectives and heightened experiences; truly a tale as old as time. Look no further than the TSR acclaimed band Wednesday and the parallels that can be drawn between songwriter Karly Hartzman this weeks Lily Fontaine. Much like Hartzman, the English Teacher front-woman grabs parts of her rural upbringing and pulls them onto the page in the form of puzzling poetry from deep in the mind of a doughy eyed twenty-something. On The World’s Biggest Paving Slab Fontaine’s vocal style, a careful mix of melodic singing and in-your-face spoken word (Leeds twang and all) can be seen working perfectly among the guitar driven elements underneath her. Fontaine’s previous experience within a dream-pop band is majorly apparent on Paving, with large amounts of wash out effects being the meat and sinew of the track – a sonic palette that I will never be sick of or nor be mad about.
One particular attribute of English Teachers signature sound, the spoken word peppered throughout Lily’s performance, is one of many artistic choices that are simple to execute yet add so much additional character to a bands style. What isn’t simple however, is the skill shown on each and every instrument in the band – Douglas Frost on the drums, Nichols Eden on the bass, and Lewis Whiting on the lead guitar, all putting in a top tier effort. English Teachers playing style is complex and layered with time signature changes, energy swings and physical pauses in play being just a few of the many techniques that keep the listener guessing from track to track. Layers pile onto one another in standout songs Not Everybody Gets to Go to Space, Nearly Daffodils and Albert Road, all void of cookie cutter melodic patterns and lacking any sort of predictable song structure. From the piano arpeggiations to the math rock-esque playing styles on the guitar, I truly went through this album not being able to comprehend what may come next; a feeling that is few and far between these days and one that I hold near and dear.
By the end of this review week I kept thinking the same repeating thought: I cannot wait to see where this band goes from here. It’s very easy to take a pause in these moments and get a heavy heart, knowing full well that for every breakthrough debut album success there are a plethora of bands that sadly fall into a whispering mediocrity shortly afterwards. With this truth firmly planted in the back of my mind, I look at English Teacher with an optimism that I haven’t felt for a new band in quite some time. As far as debut albums go, it doesn’t get much better than this in the modern era.
Overall Rating: 8.3/10
Favourite Song: The World's Biggest Paving Slab
LUNDI
Growing up I always wanted to be a lawyer but my high school English teacher convinced me that my skillset better suited the life of an engineer. My writing skills apparently lacked. Well, jokes on you Ms. M, look at me now! Engineer and writer extraordinaire. A blogger so damn sharp he uses high school stories no one understands to introduce album reviews. This week TSR takes on This Could Be Texas, the debut record from UK outfit English Teacher.
Debut albums are a tricky concept. Play it too safe and you may never get another shot. Push all the boundaries at once and you find yourself destined to cult following. No matter what path a musician chooses to follow the fact is originality can never be ignored, and that’s the shining staple of English Teacher. Their debut is massive and ambitious to the point that its chaotic surface level listening is akin to the all time greats and fellow countrymen Radiohead, and while that influence never wavers, as the layers peel back with every listen, English Teacher feels more and more like their own entity, a band that’s fresh and all the more entertaining.
English Teacher’s debut puts the emotional weight of their musical direction on the shoulders of their dynamic and sprawling song arrangements. While the lyrical concepts are insightful and intuitive, unlike most of their genre counterparts they are not the main draw of this collective. The foursome’s unique musical structure made of dazzling piano and guitar riffs and crisp synths and drum lines begs to be deconstructed. It is massive and transformative filled with rhythmic and tempo changes throughout. An album full of delightful surprises.
Despite a figurative back seat front woman Lily Fontaine’s post-punk spoken delivery meshes well with the sonics the band has created. Her subdued and deadpan conveyance aptly fit even if they might be a little rough around the edges. Fontaine presents as a vocalist who a cog in the machine, more than the persona of charismatic leader. The focus is on her chemistry with Eden, Frost and Whiting which in the end projects English Teacher as a band determined to make it together or not make it at all. It’s their way and there’s nothing normal about it.
Now is the time where album length critiques make an appearance, but surprise surprise despite 50+ minutes this runtime is actually excellent. It fits their narrative and musical vision perfectly. Sure there’s room to trim or rearrange songs for a better overall cohesion but never once does the record drag. I have a gripe with them for constantly tricking me with four closer like songs to finish the album, but that’s a conversation for another day.
English Teacher’s ambitious and sprawling record is an amazing accomplishment for a debut. Many bands would kill for a career climax this well executed. Lightning in a bottle or destined for greatness? Only time will tell but my money is on the latter.
Overall Rating: 8.3/10
Favourite Song: Albert Road
REID
The momentum set thus far in 2024 is unprecedented and recency bias is strong as we roll into the debut record from British rock band, English Teacher. Luckily there’s more than enough room for the foursome on the TSR schedule. Lundi’s assertion of an influx of rock music into the mainstream is further solidified as This Could Be Texas joins a growing list of albums from quality groups garnering attention on the scene. It’s a matter of time before they flood festival lists, inching out middling pop and over-produced hip hop acts, returning to the guitar and drum solo glory days of old. The transition is already underway! Good news for this guy.
The overwhelming sentiment through the thirteen songs over 51 minutes is the band’s willingness to go for it. They lean into their arsenal of creativity and aren’t shy to experiment with their sound. Melodic contrast with guitar and piano is a recurring highlight across the record, particularly on Albatross, Mastermind Specialism, The Best Years of Your Life and I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying. And while they may share that sonic quality, they’re quite different otherwise with a mix of pace and singing styles ranging from soft and beautiful to spoken and fierce. You Blister Your Paint could’ve landed on a Gaga album, with vocalist Lily Fontaine digging deep with a sultry performance of a tormented love song. Strings accompany the piano mid way, another trend sprinkled throughout the tracklist providing a welcome element of class. It feels like your playlist is on shuffle swapping from the explorative and epic titular track to the synth-infused intro of Not Everybody Goes To Space. The groovy bass has its moment in the spotlight on R&B, a song that’ll have you dancing for the first half and moshing toward the finish as the raucous guitar builds with Fontaine’s ferocity. (Special shout out to the ‘too sweet’ easter egg lyric, they must’ve known we hit this review). Sideboob is a spacey synth-led track I would’ve assumed was from the 80’s if it shuffled on the radio. Albert Road wraps things up with an ambitious build from quiet and smooth to loud and exuberant. This one has live show closer written all over it. The World’s Biggest Paving Slab has a catchy, indie rock vibe like The Strokes or Wet Leg initially before flipping to an Alvvays-esque shoegaze chorus. No surprise this one ended up as my favourite with those comparables. All this is to say, English Teacher is a talented group of musicians with plenty of weapons to choose from.
Despite an overwhelmingly positive debut, This Could Be Texas isn’t without flaws. Fontaine is a tour de force with incredible range from post punk swagger to pop star vibrato. However the spoken lyrics get tiresome when used too frequently. Luckily it’s overshadowed by the band’s instrumental prowess and you get sucked back into one of their excellent jams or transitions to close out the tune. Minor critique in the grand scheme of things but one that could be tinkered with as they continue to develop as a group.
English Teacher carve out a progressive identify on their debut album, pushing the envelope with a pleasing juxtaposition of sounds. Their ingenuity is impressive, making them a group to watch moving forward.
Overall Rating: 8.1/10
Favourite song: The World’s Biggest Paving Slab