Posted on: March 2, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

Telly’s “Free Music For Sale” is an album that is truly timeless. While the tracks on the album will appeal well to a contemporary audience, the songs on the disc fit equally well into a number of eras and different genres. This accessibility is the reason why “Free Music For Sale” is such a hit; jazz, funk, rock, and countless other sounds and stylistic approaches morph together into something new and exciting. “Anything” has a funk groove that will equally please fans of Radiohead, Parliament Funkadelic, and even Phish. The slightly-gritty vocals are the cherry on top of this confection, the winding and tricky compositions creating a track that firmly implants itself into listeners’ heads.

“Sometimes” is a similarly varied track, with acts as diverse as The Wallflowers, Dave Matthews Band, and Jack Johnson all coming to mind. Unlike those acts, however, Telly comes forth with a talent present in each guitar riff, bass line, and bit of percussion that is present here. “Free” is a track that draws heavily on a blues backdrop before going and taking a completely unique track. The disregard for traditional attitudes regarding ime signatures makes “Free” one of the best songs on ”Free Music For Sale”. The music may not be similar aurally to Tool’s, but I find some similarity between the two acts. The marketability of each act’s music belies a very deep and dense instrumentation that gives listeners something new each time they listen to the song.

While the whole of instrumentation and vocals ensure that each of the tracks on “Free Music For Sale” are different creatures from each other, the talent of all involved with the disc is at such a level that a current runs through the disc, drawing listeners along until that point where “Where I Stand” closes up shop. I want to hear more in the way of music from Telly and feel that anyone that fancies themselves to be a fan of music in general (and rock in particular) owes themselves the favor of picking up “Free Music For Sale” at the first opportunity. See them live, listen to the album, or even check out any videos they may create – Telly is the real deal, and one band that will undoubtedly have a great 2009.

Top Tracks: Free, 2b1

Rating: 8.0/10

Telly – Free Music For Sale / 2009 Pantelis Karoussos / 9 Tracks / http://www.tellyjams.com

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