Tele Novella: Poet’s Tooth

Of all the new bands discovered in post-lockdown, few have grown in listenership more than Tele Novella.

Following the release of their excellent 2021 release, Merlynn Belle, the Lockhart, Texas duo of Natalie Ribbons and Jason Chronis are, in many respects, like the town in which they hail from: lost in time. It’s a beautiful thing, particularly in such a fast-moving modern age, and even better given their music is equally compelling and valiantly original.

Through the four singles taken from their latest dispatch Poet’s Tooth, and in particular the videos for each single, it’s seen Tele Novella’s social media numbers explode. While this may tap into the ‘metrics’ mantra that makes anyone worth their salt project vomit into the nearest rubbish bin, on a less cynical side of that argument, it’s refreshing to see a good band gain the plaudits they deserve, because, well, it seldom shakes out that way for 99 pe cent of artists in this space.

Tele Novella Interview: “I’ve never really fit into a widely accepted genre or scene”

On Poet’s Tooth, Tele Novella shift the needle slightly. A band adept and completely comfortable in their own skin; Ribbons and Chronis are almost like the couple that finish each other’s sentences, content to just sit on the back porch and watch the world go by. This time with the assistance of percussion and gadget wrangler Danny Reisch, Ribbons and Chronis’ four-track medieval meanderings unravel into some wonderful country-tinged baroque pop.

Many in this arena write songs from an inward perspective, but that’s where Tele Novella are different. Through the characters which shape their songs, Ribbons and Chronis pull away from reality to form their own, timeless world. There’s no better example than Changeless Kingdom, as Ribbons sings, “We’re getting out / There’s a better life than that”. Indeed.

“The world is older than sin / That doesn’t mean that you should keep it waiting” declares Ribbons on the opening gambit, Young & Free – a sleepy serenade that slowly sinks into the pores (“When your heart is longing / When you’re young and free/ There’s already a sadness for things you haven’t seen”). It’s Grant McLennan-like stuff, and it’s sprinkled all throughout Poet’s Tooth, including the gaunt outlier country ditty, Hard-Hearted Way (“Living is hard / I wouldn’t’ dare call this love”).

From the wonky melodies of the insanely catchy Broomhorse to the slow-motion psych of Eggs In One Basket, they are the kind of songs millennials could use as nursery rhymes for their kids. It resonates with us adults, too, of course, and suddenly it seems like we are all struck down with Tele Novella fever. So too with the wonderfully titled Vampire Cowgirl where Ribbons and Chronis present rockabilly and country through the lens of psychedelia.

Karen Vogt Interview: “I always try and just trust my ears and find the feeling in it all”

Then there’s merry waltz of The Unicorn (“Hoping to find /Someone half-blind / Somebody who will make us new / To hold in the night / Guard us from fright / Change all that’s gone from the new”). A love song with sharp metaphors, Unicorns and angels falling from the sky, it’s a fantastical world inspired by a tray full of chemical refreshments.

It continues on Rodeo Clown. A song seemingly delivered from a darkened room with the spotlight bearing down on Ribbons – a one woman army unfurling a country ramble tailormade for The Road House on Twin Peaks. Even as Ribbons parts with the line, “Every Texas town has a rodeo clown”, it permeates with a Lynchian aroma.

The off-kilter ways continue during the album’s shiniest jewel in the title track – a wonderful tale seemingly inspired by a Christopher Moore novel. Something that completely cuts across the thresholds of age demographic and taste, purely blurring the lines where the only thing left is enjoyment for all the family.

And that’s what Poet’s Tooth is. In subtle ways, Tele Novella combine edginess and accessibly that simply holds no currency. An event where everybody is welcome, merely through storytelling inspired by a merry band of eccentric misfits and average joes that are the protagonists that underpin the songs on Poet’s Tooth. That’s what a community is, and Tele Novella have documented it through songs like few others have.

Poet’s Tooth is out Friday via Kill Rock Stars. Purchase from Bandcamp.