If you haven't heard of
English Teacher, then where the hell have you been? Widely considered 'the next big thing', their debut album '
This Could Be Texas' not only proves that theory, it might actually be understating just how special this band is.
'This Could Be Texas' is a love letter to frontwoman Lily Fontaine's cross-Pennine life so far. Her lyrics strike to the heart of urban, working-class living, with her strained voice conveying nostalgia, introspection, and ambition with effortless beauty. Weaving abstract metaphor into otherwise run-of-the-mill experiences, Fontaine fleshes out tiny details to ensure you feel included in every little aspect.
Much of this album is pure cinema. The stilted, cut-and-paste intonation of '
Broken Biscuits' embodies stagnant smalltown drama, whilst the swirling experimentalism of 'Not Everyone Gets To Go To Space' creates a galactic dreamscape, mirroring the place your mind wanders to when you're staring out your bedroom window. There is scathing social commentary in grungy-punk banger 'R&B', addressing racial bias within a still majority-white indie scene, while epic finale '
Albert Road' injects colour and verve into Fontaine's childhood memories.
English Teacher are impossible to pigeonhole, breaking out of the saturated post-punk scene and pulling from multiple contrasting influences with poise and precision. Ebbing and flowing, building and breaking down when you least expect it, the quartet travel from classic indie-rock in hit single '
The World's Biggest Paving Slab', through to jazz-blues in '
Sideboob', via a quick detour into jangling college rock in '
Nearly Daffodils', and even grabbing a handful of goth in '
The Best Tears Of Your Life'.
