It’s always a gamble when you pre-order a record after hearing just one song. The Ballad Of Doug by The Telephone Numbers is an example where that gamble pays off. The San Francisco jangle pop band (featuring members of The Skygreen Leopards, The Reds, Pink and Purples, The Lovebirds, The Umbrellas) is firing on all cylinders on their debut full-length. Like the colorful album art, the nine songs on the record are vibrant, exciting and a joy for the senses. I usually highlight certain songs in my posts as an easy entrance point for our readers. The Telephone Numbers set such a high bar in their songs however, that I find it near impossible to do. The Ballad Of Doug has no fillers and is best experienced in full. Just press play on album opener You’re Nowhere and let The Telephone Numbers take you anywhere.
A while back, I wrote how I was underwhelmed with the number of quality jangle pop releases in 2021. But with this record, and the ones by Quivers, Massage, Gap Year, Roselawns etc I have to take that back – browse our archive for more jangle goodness. All of a sudden, it’s starting to get crowded in the AOTY jangle, and it is not even July.
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