Telekinesis is a Seattle-area band, but I only found that out after hearing their 2013 Dormarion album early this summer and thinking that it was one of the best new albums I’d heard in a while. So don’t think I’m just playing hometown favorites — this is really good stuff. Actually, when I say “their” album, I really ought to say “his” album, since Telekinesis is essentially a one-man operation — run by Michael Benjamin Lerner. Lerner first started as Telekinesis in 2009 and has released 4 albums in that time. Dormarion was produced by Spoon drummer Jim Eno, who also plays drums on most of the songs, but it doesn’t sound anything like a Spoon album. It tips its hat to a number of influences, from Weezer to the “shoegazer” bands, among others, but on the whole doesn’t stay too indebted to any one of them.
Despite its title, “Lean on Me” is not a cover of the Bill Withers classic — rather, it’s a breezy power-pop original that is reminiscent of early Foo Fighters material, a la “Big Me.” It wouldn’t be hard to picture Dave Grohl singing this one. There’s also a 1960s British Invasion feel to the song — not necessarily the Beatles but more like the bands that imitated them at the time, such as Peter and Gordon (although “World Without Love,” the song of theirs that this kind of brings to mind, was written by Lennon and McCartney, so go figure).
If you like this one, check out the rest, but don’t necessarily expect them to all sound similar, given the pretty wide range of styles on the album. Wide-ranging yes, but all good.