Lily Fontaine is pleased that her group, English Teacher, are defying expectations on their eclectic debut album – but she’s still a little apprehensive at how fans will take its diverse, sprawling contents. “A lot of people are probably expecting a heavier album, and that is a concern,” she says. “But we’d like to challenge people, surprise people – annoy people, maybe? I just don’t want to lock myself into one thing. Whatever comes out, comes out.”
Indeed, This Could Be Texas sets up the Leeds-based four-piece for a long, adventurous career. Across 13 tracks, it crosses the boundaries of indie-rock and ventures into post-rock, electronica and anthemic balladry, not unlike Radiohead, a big influence for the band alongside Black Country, New Road, Sonic Youth, Television, Fontaines DC and more. Meanwhile, Fontaine’s lyrics show her love of science fiction.
“‘You Blister My Paint’ is named after a song playing in the Korova Milkbar in A Clockwork Orange. I love Isaac Asimov. It’s not classic sci-fi but one of my favourite short stories is Stephen King’s ‘The Langoliers’. There’s a film referenced on the album, [2009’s] Mr Nobody, that’s got a time travel, parallel universe kind of vibe. I’ve got a thing about Star Wars too, I watched it for the first time in lockdown!”
ENGLISH TEACHER
THIS COULD BE TEXAS
ISLAND
8/10
Lancashire/Leeds quartet take many roads on their debut
Pay fleeting attention to English Teacher, and you might lump them in with the angular, spoken-word indie of Dry Cleaning, Wet Leg or Yard Act; delve deeper into this 50-minute opus, however, and there are surprises everywhere. While “R&B” and “Nearly Daffodils” are sprightly, irreverent post-punk, the influence of Black Country, New Road and Radiohead are evident on the complex, proggy title track and the diverse, hushed final third of the album. Lily Fontaine’s lyrics, too, are deep and funny, from the Clockwork Orange references to “Albert Road”’s line about “Steve’s mate’s son used to play in The Fall…”
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