Direct Hit To The Heart

Telekinesis “Courtesy Phone”

There’s a brief breakdown near the end of this song in which Michael Lerner clears away the treble and sings “you forget the feeling of magic / you forget feeling emphatic” over a simple beat and a chugging bass line. I know this feel, Michael! It’s surprisingly easy to go long stretches of time without feeling many strong emotions as an adult – sometimes it’s a matter of falling into a depression that blanks everything out, and more often it’s a steady OK feeling that turns into extended complacency. The former is awful and soul-deadening, the latter is fine but totally unrewarding. “Courtesy Phone” lies on the periphery of this emotional dead zone, with Lerner fighting against the impulse to stay in that plateau, and pushing himself to risk dealing with the lows in order to get some highs. You can hear that tension in the music itself – the beat is stiff and robotic, but the structure of the music pushes against that to build a thrilling momentum.

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