Certainly one of the stranger duo's to come out of indie rock lately is Virginia's Telegraph Melts.
Comprised of guitarist Bob Massey and cellist Amy Domingues,TM's compositions defy classification. Traces of avant garde classical,improv jazz, and chamber music are balanced on one end of a scale,while heavy chunks of rock are countered on the other. "Indigo AzurCyan" begins with Domingues' setting up a mid-tempo bed, using shortbows of her cello to imply a classical bass line, until the guitardrops in a turns it upside down and dirge-like; with help on drums fromDevin Ocampo, the unflinchingly gorgeous "Every Day A Sunrise, A SummerEvery Year" is a mini epic, deftly switching from simple plucked,bowed, and tumbling beauty (Massey coaxes wonderful harmonic feedbackand stretched-out lines from his guitar) to full-stride rock in aheartbeat. Alas, comparisons to Rachel's are inevitable, but certainlyno insult. However, Telegraph Melts does not act holier-than-thou, justbecause one of them happens to be a cellist. Massey does not feel thenedd to play up to Domingues, and rightfully so. On "Cantus ForTheodore N.", which sounds more eggheaded than it is, Domingues provesshe can "rock" by sawing at her cello like lumberjack, holding her ownagainst her partner's over-driven guitar. Telegraph holding her ownagainst her partner's over-driven guitar. Telegraph Melts explorationof unplundered territory is captivating, and thankfully don't fall preyto the traps lain before them, unlike so many before.
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TELEGRAPH MELTS, "ILIUM"
- Jason Olariu
- Albums and Singles