Telecommando Americano
Telecommando Americano is an album by the American band Material Issue, released in 1997, one year after frontman Jim Ellison's suicide. It was the band's fourth album. The band's debut six-song EP, released on vinyl in 1987, was included with the album.
| Telecommando Americano | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1997 | |||
| Genre | Power pop | |||
| Label | Rykodisc[1] | |||
| Material Issue chronology | ||||
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Telecommando Americano is an album by the American band Material Issue, released in 1997, one year after frontman Jim Ellison's suicide.[2][3] It was the band's fourth album.[4] The band's debut six-song EP, released on vinyl in 1987, was included with the album.[5][6]
Production
[edit]The songs originated as voice/guitar demos by Ellison and were finished by his bandmates; they were recorded in 1995 and 1996.[6][7] They are not autobiographical, as Ellison was not a fan of confessional songwriting.[8] "(0.15)", the final song, is 15 seconds of intentionally recorded silence.[9] "Carousel" is a ballad.[10] "Off the Hook" employs the busy signal of a phone line as its rhythmic foundation.[11]
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [12] |
| Chicago Sun-Times |  [13] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [14] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [15] |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer | [1] |
| The Plain Dealer | B[4] |
Dallas Observer wrote that Material Issue's "mix of plaintive post-adolescent longing (and anger), rock convention, and snappy songcraft reflected the pop ideals kept alive by New Wave into yet another decade while preserving the bleeding heart of an earlier era."[16] Phoenix New Times opined: "If the power-pop crowd needs its Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs to wallow in, this is surely it."[17]
The Chicago Tribune called the album "a top-down, crank-the-amps blend of three-minute rockers and equally terse, heart-crushing ballads that reaffirms Material Issue's stature as among the best things to happen to Midwest power-pop since the 1970s heyday of Cheap Trick and the Raspberries."[8] The Chicago Sun-Times deemed it "a strong, fitting close to the band's all too short legacy of perfect pop songs."[13]
AllMusic wrote: "No matter how good these are, there's a sense that Ellison took his life before he reached his full potential, and that's really what makes Telecommando Americano so sad—he had the gift, but he hadn't completely mastered it yet."[12] The A.V. Club noted that, "as hopes of stardom faded, the darkness increasingly came to the fore."[18]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Satellite" | |
| 2. | "What If I Killed Your Boyfriend" | |
| 3. | "2 Steps" | |
| 4. | "976-Love" | |
| 5. | "Young American Freak" | |
| 6. | "Carousel" | |
| 7. | "London Girl" | |
| 8. | "You Were Beautiful" | |
| 9. | "Our Daughter" | |
| 10. | "Head Shop" | |
| 11. | "Off the Hook" | |
| 12. | "(0.15)" |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Moon, Tom (March 30, 1997). "Pop Is Back, Melodiously, Joyously". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. F1.
- ^ "Material Issue Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- ^ Pruzan, Todd (May 1997). "Bright lights: The material world/Spring frost". Chicago. Vol. 46, no. 5. p. 20.
- ^ a b Soeder, John (June 27, 1997). "Telecommando Americano Material Issue". Friday. The Plain Dealer. p. 29.
- ^ Guarino, Mark (August 7, 1998). "Music Notes". Time Out. Daily Herald. Arlington Heights. p. 4.
- ^ a b "Into the Sunset". Chicago Reader. May 22, 1997.
- ^ Rothschild, David (February 3, 1997). "Material Issue to Release Last Songs by Ellison". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 5.
- ^ a b Kot, Greg (June 1, 1997). "Last Dance: Material Issue's Final Glimpse of Jim Ellison". Arts & Entertainment. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
- ^ "Material Issue". Perfect Sound Forever.
- ^ Kot, Greg (November 28, 1997). "The Chicago 15". Friday. Chicago Tribune. pp. 7, 19.
- ^ Maurstad, Tom (May 29, 1997). "Power-Pop Brokers". The Dallas Morning News. p. 5C.
- ^ a b "Material Issue Telecommando Americano". AllMusic.
- ^ a b Kim, Jae-Ha (May 18, 1997). "'Telecommando Americano' review". Showcase. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 13.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 566.
- ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. pp. 722–723.
- ^ Weitz, Matt. "Out There". Dallas Observer.
- ^ Dominic, Serene. "Recordings". Phoenix New Times.
- ^ "Permanent Records: Albums from The A.V. Club's Hall of Fame". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 27, 2022.