On Friday April 12th we see the release of the hotly anticipated debut album from the Leeds band English Teacher. ‘This Could Be Texas’ consists of 13 tracks and is the debut LP for band members Lily Fontaine (vocals, rhythm guitar, synth), Douglas Frost (drums, piano, vocals), Nicholas Eden (bass) and Lewis Whiting (lead guitar). I’ve been lucky enough to have listened to the album ahead of it’s release on Friday and I’m excited to share my review about what I expect to be a very popular indie album of 2024.
Throughout listening to the album I noticed the band create a mix of gorgeous melodies between the various instruments and Lily’s vocals, layered within each song. A highlight is the mirroring of the guitar and piano in the album-titled song ‘This Could Be Texas’. When the violin and the rest of the band joins, it creates this huge crescendo of music which the band use to create a grand finale within the track before it gently resolves back to the beginning of the song. This is excellent songwriting and it was a joy to listen to. My favourite track is “You Blister My Paint”. It is a heart-breaking song with so many gut-wrenching phrases but my favourite lyrics are the following:“I dreamt about the kiss/ every night so far this week/I hope I don’t tonight/I hope I break the streak/you’re overexposure/makes my eyes weak/but I can’t look away/it’s so hard then you leave me/“ I felt as a listener you can hear the heartbreak in Fontaine’s voice and it musically captures a moment most people can resonate with. Other tracks I’d like to note are “Broken Biscuits” which raises social topics (“Can a river stop its banks from bursting/ blame the council not the rain/ no preparation/ for the breakdown”) and “Mastermind Specialism” where I’ve noted when listening the piano sounds like gorgeous teardrops that fall on Fontaine’s vocals before moving into the acoustic guitar. It’s a gentle sounding song, which is played so delicately by the band. Of course not forgetting the tracks “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab” and “Albert Road” that I have already written about in a previous blog post.
English Teacher are another really exciting band that are finally getting the exposure they have worked hard for and deserve. They present beautiful songs that are carefully composed, highlighting in their lyrics social topics and discussing heartbreak. It’s a powerful album and I hope I’ll be able to see the band on their next tour. For tour tickets click here and to pre-order the album you can do so here with my local record store Applestump Records. I hope you enjoy the album and let me know on release day what you think!
Beth x
You can read more of Beth's reviews on her blog: https://bethraywrites.com