Good Time/Hard Time

In the years after Family of Aliens release, there was so much music about the difficult state of the world that Teleman decided their next album would look on the bright side. On Good Time/Hard Time, they remind listeners to embrace lifes simple pleasures with catchy, relatable songs. Occasionally, however, its too apparent that theyre trying to appeal to the widest possible audience. "Short Life"s chugging guitars and nagging keyboard add some heft to the bands message to seize the day, but it feels like some of their distinctive songwriting quirks have been straightened out in an attempt to be anthemic. Similarly, the title track closes the album with a reminder of how hard it is to write crowd-pleasing sing-alongs that arent overly simplistic. Nevertheless, Teleman find some typically atypical ways of expressing these universal feelings. As the title Good Time/Hard Time implies, life usually isnt just one or the other, and the band fares better when they honor that complexity. They discover grace and resilience in the sparkling, swirling keyboards of "Easy Now Ive Got You," one of the albums best reflections on enjoying life even when its difficult, and pair impressions of awkward childhoods and generational trauma with deceptively smooth beats on the highlight "Trees Grow High." As on Family of Aliens and the Sweet Morning EP -- Telemans first release as the trio of Tom Sanders, Pete Cattermoul, and Hiro Amamiya -- electronics play an increasingly large role on Good Time/Hard Time. Teleman imbue those synthetic sounds with a sizable dose of warmth on "Hello Everybody," a vocodered, optimistic transmission from the future that compares life to cherry pie ("eat it while its hot"), and the romantic, slow-motion disco of "Cherish." Also like Aliens, some of Good Time/Hard Times gems are buried on its second half, whether its "The Juice"s flirtatious, funky synth pop, "The Girls Who Came to Stay"s carefree sensuality, or "I Can Do It for You," a fusion of ELO pomp and dance-punk that finds the band at their earwormy best. Teleman might still be finding their feet as a three-piece, but Good Time/Hard Time is especially strong when they lean into their wit and individuality. ~ Heather Phares