Telepathic Teddy Bear – The Course of Empire
This is an EP you need to hear with headphones on. I wanted to mull this over in depth because I listened to this many times over the period of a few weeks and I fell in love with it all over again, so I wanted to write a track-by-track breakdown. This is what made me decide to start keeping a list of the albums that I consider to be unmissable peak quality (according to my taste). The EP itself is an electronic concept album that crafts an intriguing narrative to accompany a series of paintings.
Here is the context provided from the description of the album video uploaded by TTB:
"The Course Of Empire" EP is based off of this series of art painted by Thomas Cole. The Byron poem in the beginning of the article called "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" is the seed idea that inspired the EP a year and a half ago. There are 5 songs in the EP. One for each painting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Course_of_Empire_(paintings)
The Truth of Violence: I was hooked from the very beginning with the drums and the synths, and then it came in with the distorted vocals. I like how this song has different movements or new things happening every other section, so it doesn't get stale. The whole album has a dynamic vibe that I just love, and this track sets the tone well in my opinion. It’s the building up of the action to come, setting the stage with expectations and plotting the course of this empire.
The Benevolence of Ghosts: This one started off a lot more chill with an acoustic vibe, but soon added in a beat and some reverb synths that gives it a spacey, vast sound that matches the lyrics about looking back over the years. I love the outro when almost all the instruments drop out to leave the autotuned voice by itself, and the very end of this track has a subtle transition into the next.
The Milk of the Earth: My favorite track of the album! The horns are quiet at first, but slowly build up with a few hints of the synths that will come later. Then, once again, we get more sweeping synth sounds that swell up against a driving beat. The lyrics are just the same phrase repeated throughout (“I need you now; you’re overblown”), and despite the simplicity, I can’t quite figure out what he’s trying to say with it. Is this referring to the empire? Maybe a person? There’s so much to think about here. The quiet interlude brings down the energy enough to give a little breather before picking up again. I can’t properly explain why, but this song feels like a masterpiece, and I love the bass.
The Bleeding of Mercy: The vocoder effect is, once again, immaculate. I really dig this style for this EP and it’s something that makes it so much better for me. This song has a dark, warlike energy that perfectly matches the scene of the painting (Destruction) and supports the lyrical message. The horns go so well with this, and the harp overlaid on the devolving staticky noise makes a perfect ending.
The Remnants of Will: In contrast to all the other songs, this is a purely instrumental track that opens with birdsong and piano, giving it a tranquil atmosphere. Appropriate for the scene in the painting showing the aftermath of the battle that had left only ruins overgrown with plant life. After the halfway point, an epic segment begins and it has such a euphoric, uplifting feel to it. Slowly, the instruments are peeled back at the end and fade out to be replaced by the birdsong again. The empire has run its course.
