Tellison
This isn’t the first time Tellison have played The Croft, and one thing’s clear – there’s a lot of love in the room for these guys. From the front row, which is almost exclusively female, to the tall guys at the back everyone is patiently waiting for the onslaught of considered pop punk a la Tellison.
Opening with ‘Horses’, from last year’s ‘The Wages of Fear’ album is a good call. A short, sharp belter of a song – bursting with energy, guitar riffs and sing-along choruses. This sets the scene for the gig. These songs sing to everyone, tales of adventures, relationships and ponderings. Next up is the storming ‘Edith’, with it’s compelling chorus: “Someone’s gonna get hurt tonight…”
There’s also a tender side to Tellison; with ‘My Wife’s Grave Is In Paris’, a heartbreaking song, which opens with the telling line: “I wish I’d never met you.”. It could make for a lull in the set, but it builds layer on layer to a soaring number in a Feeder kind of way. ‘Wasp’s Nest’ has sniffs of The Wannadies about it and an obligatory ‘ba ba ba ba ba’ to tease out the sing-a-longs, they clearly enjoy so well. Their recent single ‘Freud Links The Teeth And The Heart’ is another slow burning, tender number which worms its way into your heart and has you singing it for days.
Lyrically, Tellison offer you more than their peers (Fall Out Boy, Get Up Kids etc). Maybe it’s cos frontman Stephen is a Cambridge grad or maybe it’s simply cos they’re British, not American. In ‘Gallery’, Peter spits: “My list of things to do before I met you, come on, let’s learn how to live!” before Stephen interjects with: “Taking the first steps…” An anthem for a million missed opportunities. They seal the deal with ‘Say Silence’ and ‘Collarbone’ – which encourages another mass singalong/love in and leaves you thirsty for more.
