Billy D., Mario Lopez, Richard Beastmaster, Boyd Shropshire, Michael Johnson, Estelle Baruch, Matt Kimmel
Influences
Black Tambourine - Black Car, Rocketship - A Certain Smile A Certain Sadness, KG - Magic Johnson, Loop - Heaven's End, Henry's Dress - 1620, reverb
Sounds Like
Our interpretation of what we think good music should sound like. If you agree with us and enjoy listening to what we do then we greatly appreciate it. If you don't agree with us and feel that our songs are the biggest pieces of shit that you've ever heard in your life, well, that's fine too. It's up to you.
Did it kick in yet? asks Human Television frontman Billy Downing, as a wicker chair begins to collapse below us in his bedroom/pseudo studio.
Well, lets see. An amateur Picasso painting of belligerent brushstrokes and hidden Mardi Gras masks appears to be popping off one wall like a Magic Eye print. (Downing discovered it in a Brooklyn trash heap and deemed it appropriate album art for Human Televisions new LP. We couldnt agree more.) And the hollowed-out eyes plastered across a nearby Siamese Dream poster seem to be expanding and contracting ever so subtly. So, yeah, something kicked in.
This looks like a 15-year-olds room doesnt it? The Nirvana poster over there just completes the look. Hes right, really. The place is so claustrophobic and crowdedcomplete with a messy bed, minimal clothing and an amp/electric guitar/Big Black Roland 606 drum machine combo propped against a windowyoud think some junior high Elliott Smith successor lived here. Not some anomalous, pensive 24-year-old from South Florida whos really into Black Tambourine, the entire Creation Records discography and, considering the sound of the new song piping into our ears from his iPod, Joy Division. Im Moving On begins as a dismal guitar loop before detonating in an ominous dust cloud of arena rock riffs and reverb-doused vocals that suggest absolute desperation. Downing leans forward on his bed and spins the iPods volume wheel to the max. The combination of a numb narrator and complete cacophony is actually quite debilitatingenough for us to ask him to turn it off. To think, the whole thing is built around a few simple guitar chords and a shifting bass line, like Sweet Jane and every twisted pop track penned before and after it.
On paper, it sounds horrendous, but if you can just hit one note and change around that one constant thing, its amazing, says Downing. The trick is in the layering: You get all the parts talking to one another. A similar feat carries Untitled, a seasick combination of sterile drum machine patterns, vocals that were muddled and mangled through a guitar amp and tremolo effects, and guitars that switch from a swirling soft acoustic to a towering mess of Melvins-like fuzz tones.
Admittedly, this is a somewhat misleading introduction to Human Televisions debut LP, Look At Who Youre Talking To. Musically, much of it is a refined recollection of their previous EP, All Songs Written By: Human Television. Which means a compact package of purified pop songs (the taut leadoff single I Laughed, the carnival castle buoyancy of Such a Trip) and melodies that jingle, jangle, and burrow their way into your brain like a cyst. Comparisons are unnecessary but expected, so we wont blame you if youre thinking lo-fi Rickenbacker rock! or these guys must dig The Wedding Present again from time to time. Hell, Downing was so amused by the parallels drawn between the pair in previous Human Television reviews that he posted, A lot of people say we rip you guys off, on The Wedding Presents Myspace page.
At least its disco beat free, says Downing, smiling slightly maniacally. We checked. Its cheating to do that.
It is what it is, insists Downing. I wrote this album as if I might not write another album again. It can be as little or as much as you want it to be.
Billy Downing, guitarist and vocalist for the Human Television, exhibits the ecstatically hushed presence of his band's full-length debut, Look at Who You're Talking To. "Sometimes I'll sit in my room and listen to records for hours or smoke weed," he says. "I love records. They're faceless. I'm a little scared about shows: You're standing there, people ogling you, and you have to perform well and look good. I don't really relate to bands or shows or anything like that." He pauses. "All I really give a shit about are songs."
Downing grew up in southern Florida and met his bandmates at UF, before relocating to Philadelphia in 2004. He fled to New York after six months and now resides in Fort Greene. With a new city and new sound, the recent material's sweetly expansive vocal hooks, fuzzed guitar splashes, and Wedding Presentstyle drumming ought to dispel the early R.E.M. comparisons garnered after 2004's All Songs Written B y EP. It's a varied dreampop palette: "I'm Moving On" pairs disembodied, four-note guitar crunches, standstill drums, shimmering bass notes, and melancholic, reverb-drenched vocals. On the other hand, first single "I Laughed" is an ebullient but lonesome Sarah/C86 jangle loaded with surrealistic images: a spider-filled mouth, a snow cone used as a kaleidoscope.
"I ate a lot of mushrooms in college," Downing deadpans. The 25-year-old says he found Talking To's swirling modern-art cover image in the trash, stumbling home to the Bed-Stuy squat where he initially resided after arriving from Philly. "I was digging through the trash and pulled this thing out," he recalls. "I dragged it home, stapled it to the wall, then passed out." He pauses. "The songs are kind of like that . . . found objects."
At a recent show, Downing mostly jabbed his guitar and sang in a shy hush, often with his eyes closed, smiling slightly. "I'm not trying to revive a genre," he'd told me earlier. "I wanted to make a pop record that I like to listen to." Onstage, it felt like he was back in his apartment absorbing that record for himself, a private act made loud and public, like a feedback-drenched prayer or shouted secret.
A quick glance at Human Televisions press photos might give you the idea that these Florida transplants are here to provide a dose of the unpretentious, substance-over-style rock music thats been missing for a few years now, or at least has been overshadowed by fashion-conscious revivalists of once forgotten genres. The band foregoes tight-fitting suits and asymmetrical haircuts in favor of a more laid back look: ragged jeans, hooded sweatshirts, and genuinely as opposed to stylishly messed up hair. Its a look that says, I know whats really important, and as some will recognize, its just as easily linked to early-90s American indie rock as all those suits and synths are to 80s New Wave. That link is even more evident once you spend some time with their debut full-length, Look At Who Youre Talking To.
The most immediately striking component of Human Televisions sound is the guitar. Its perpetually jangly and deliciously upbeat, calling to mind all those underrated Teen Beat and Sarah Records bands who stood at the forefront of what some considered a Golden Age for our lovably nerdy counterculture. The production style is understated and really, barely noticeable; everythings crisp and relatively clear, but refreshingly free of any sterilizing sheen. The subject matter covered by frontman Billy Downing boredom, failed relationships, etc. is far from revolutionary, but the phrasing and presentation of his lyrics boast enough subtle nuance to take something fairly standard and make it extraordinary. There are hints of textured gloominess (Im Moving On) every now and then, but its not a mood that suits them particularly well. Theyre at their best on upbeat tracks like I Laughed and In Front of the House, where their sunshiny melodies take center stage.
Haters will accuse Human Television of being unoriginal, and I guess theyll be right. But, honestly? Fuck that. Theyve placed their influences squarely on their sleeves and made a pitch perfect summer record like I havent heard in years. And if thats not enough for you, I think youre skinny little tie needs loosening.
"...well-crafted two minute pop songs... bubbly guitar driven melodies..."
- StuffMagazine.com
"Nicking elements of modern rock's formative years, the Florida-bred band is as derivative as it is innovative... impossible to resist."
AllMusicGuide
On their charmingly concise EP, jangles and strums repeat until excelsis...
- Village Voice
"Human Television has crafted a compelling work with simple pop songs that seem instantly familiar."
- Time Out NY
"They write sharp songs that consciously call to mind their favorite bands."
- The New Yorker
"Gloom and 'shroom combine to glorious effect..."
- NME FEATURE
"...one of those albums you will likely reach for over and over."
- Pop Matters
"Every one of these songs is a miniature marvel of rackety indie pop."
- AllMusic Guide
"This is music you hum when you're having a really good day. A very pleasant band."
- Oh My Rockness
"Amps set to 'jangle', peppy tempos and compact pop hooks. The brightest brand of indie rock Philly has seen..."
- Philadelphia City Paper
"Simple and tasteful, All Songs Written By: Human Television puts a much needed needle to the pop scene's bubble of self-importance."
- Aversion
Upbeat, rythm-driven and full of great vocal and guitar melodies: this is your first impression of Human Television.
- Splendid
"Perfect guitar riffs... I nearly went to pieces. An album full of this gentleman, and I will gladly have your baby."
- Indie Pop Spinzone
Another three-track release thatll drive you nuts should ever you come within earshot...
-Losing Today Magazine
This is seriously one of the most exciting debuts I've heard in quite a while, and I'm certainly looking forward to hearing more from this band very soon!
- IndiePages
just posted "look at who..." remix on my music player, check it out, hope you like it, if you want a copy message me and i'll email it to you, best of luck to you guys
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