That Merlynn Belle at first sounds strange is a testament to their unwillingness to bend to rules enforced from the outside world.
Featured Track:
Tele Novella – Merlynn Belle
Kill Rock Stars – 5 February 2021
Think of an old English castle, spindly towers surrounded by a moat, yet outside that castle what you see is sagebrush rolling down through the dirt roads and you have a good handle on Tele Novella and their latest work, Merlynn Belle. The duo, comprised of singer Natalie Ribbons and the former Voxtrot bassist Jason Chronis, create music that can only be described as medieval honky-tonk.
Having been somewhat daunted by the limitless choices of modern recording, Tele Novella took a completely different approach to tracking Merlynn Belle. Parts were recorded as they were written, in whole takes, laid onto an eight-track tape recorder. Rather than assembling parts through editing, the process yielded a more organic approach. The results of this approach create a subtle blend of medieval transatlantic twang.
Marching into a battle with who knows what, “Paper Crown” leads off with an insistent bass, “I want to be the key that locks a suitcase tight/ never to come back from a faraway town/ I want to be the jewel in a paper crown.” The track becomes more and more relentless, yet there is also an incredible sense of lightness to the song with the keyboards sounding like bells. The first verse was written over nine years ago Ribbons recalls, “I used to make up little ditties to sing while I would chop up lime leaves and chillies, and this just happened to be one that stayed in my head all these years.”
Being willfully different is only part of what makes Tele Novella unique. In remarkably straight recording schemes, the band is able to come with some of the oddest angles and instrumentation imaginable. “Desiree” has a proto-Jimmy Page guitar part combining with simplistic keyboards. The match shouldn’t work, yet seems to perfectly. It’s all part of the way they create “coin-operated medieval pop songs through a 1950s western lens.” Finding the connection between Marty Robbins and Pentangle requires certain logical twists that Tele Novella seem to manage with ease.
“Words That Stay” feels a piece found baking in the Texas clay although the lyrics recount a story of a lost soul, “Where did you go/ Nobody knew you were gone.” Ambling along like an old cowpoke, slightly saddle sore from too many hours riding the range “Technicolor Town” leans heavily on western percussion. This is a plea to tranquillity, “Won’t you put me out of my misery/ if I ever seem less than perfectly happy/ Here on this street with my Technicolor Town/ I belong here now and forever.”
Lost in time outside Austin in Lockhart, Texas, Tele Novella have found a haven to create their own brand of medieval twang. That Merlynn Belle at first sounds strange is a testament to their unwillingness to bend to rules enforced from the outside world. Once their spell is cast you find them impossible to resist. Burrowing under your skin the songs take hold, and you are unable to resist the twisted charms of Tele Novella.
Order via Bandcamp: https://telenovella.bandcamp.com/