If you’re going to listen to the new record by Telehealth, please make sure to read the press release along with it. It’s written like a LinkedIn post and perfectly captures the absurdity of that platform. “LinkedIn Lunatics,” this is for you. ROI, B2B, KPIs – best regards, Telehealth. Founded in 2022, the band presents itself as a startup aiming to escape Seattle’s “flannel world” with esprit and thousands of new ideas. Nirvana 3.0, but then again, not really.
Musically, “Green World Image“ (Sub Pop) offers a solid foundation of Post-Punk and Synth-Pop. This is accompanied by absurd spoken-word vocals about the wonderful world of startups and how great it is, in general, to live in a “protein monster seeks the next big thing” society.
We settle in with a smirk and then go all out with “The Telehealth Shuffle.” The rhythm is infectious, the drums hit hard and drive weird sonic experiments forward. “Kokomo 2” offers even more to laugh about—a wonderfully absurd update to the sing-along classic. “Things I’ve Killed” is equally funny, a poppy banger.
After the biting “Silver Spoon,” the record starts to feel a bit repetitive. Perhaps ten songs would have been enough, but then again, that would be bad for the “long tail.”
Telehealth – Green World Image: Weird Post Punk – RIFL