It’s been four years since The Tea Street Band released their self titled debut album and the musical soundscape that surrounds them has changed infinitely since. The Liverpool scene is undoubtedly different, the likes of The Coral and The Wombats have made a resurgence whilst a whole new generations of bands have come to stand in line with The Tea Street Band.
Four years out the loop may seem too long but The Tea Street Band are innovators and deserve their place alongside the more interesting new bands like The Night Cafe and Monks. It was clear from the lead single ‘Feel It’ that Tea Street’s sound has become more refined than it was on their debut album; the band have put this down to work more as a unit than individuals.
“The writing process was different than the first album,”says Timo Tierney. “We wrote it together, with all of us having a massive input on each song, the title and the art work (photo By John Johnson, designed by Dom Foster). We have all pushed each other musically. It’s all of ours.”
Every element of Frequency ties together, when talking to Get Into This the band explained as far as how their album artwork ties into the overall themes of the album:
“We wanted to stay away from any religious sort of thing, it’s a Liverpool building which is important because the architecture in the city is amazing. It all ties in with the album being about noise and frequency, and faith, but more spiritually. More about music than the Catholic Church, and taking spirits into the physical realm with frequencies.”
‘Marseilles Blues’ has had the biggest fan reaction for sure. The track is a clear frontrunner from Frequency with its blend of hollow, glistening synths and melancholic lyrics. The song is about being a glutton for punishment, therefore always ending up with the blues.
The likes of ‘Sacre Coeur’ are a change of pace for Tea Street but they take on the challenge and blend traditional technique with electronic instruments whilst maintaining their strong sense of melody. Melody is a strength throughout Frequency especially on ‘Only Love’ and ‘BFYH’; This is a recurring theme throughout the Scouse scene though, so it is to be expected almost.
Overall there’s nothing not to like about The Tea Street Band’s newest release. It takes a lot to not lose momentum in a four year gap between albums but this band have come back even stronger. Frequency could be their move from ‘Liverpool’s best kept secret’ to players in the national indie scene, and I for one, hope that this is that step into the limelight for the band.
Frequency is released on 9th November through Modern Sky.
