Search - Telex :: How Do You Dance?

Telex is back... after a 20 year hiatus!

Paul Allaer | Cincinnati | 04/02/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Telex is, along with Kraftwerk, one of the most influential electro-bands around. In the late 70s and early 80s, the Belgian trio made a number of highly regarded albums, such as "Looking for St. Tropez" and "Neurovision". After the disappointing 1986 album "Looney Tunes", the band disappeared... until now.



"How Do You Dance" (10 tracks, 41 min.) picks up the thread as if the last 20 years never happened. The album starts with a cover of Canned Heat's "On the Road Again", and the good times are rolling again! The album is a mix of 5 original Telex tunes and 5 covers. Highlights include "This Is Your Song", a "love song" as only Telex can bring it (and only the second ever in their catalogue); a faithfull cover of the Sparks' "#1 Song in Heaven", which is not a surprise, given the huge admiration of Telex for the Sparks; "Move", a typical song of Telex's dry humor (the song is about a horse that doesn't want to move); and the closer, a Telex take on "La Bamba", which is used widely in Europe in college crowds to bring out wallflowers. The least effective tune is a slowed-down cover of "Jailhouse Rock", in the tradition of Telex's cover of "Rock Around the Clock". Separate from the music, the album's cover notes on all the songs by the Telex guys are great fun.



It's great to have these guys back! I never thought that they'd ever record another album. Telex has been covered extensively over the years, and their influence is substantial. "How Do You Dance?" is a most welcome back.



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