Once a month, Consequence proudly highlights an artist who is ready for the big moment with our I praise CoSign. For April 2024, that title goes to Leeds quartet English Teacher and their remarkable debut album. This could be Texas.
When the chorus of “The Worlds Biggest Paving Slab” hits, English Teacher doesn't sound like a meager four-piece rock band from Leeds, UK. They sound enormous, like a monolith, impossible to locate or specify, with complete fluency in their own sound language.
English Teacher's debut album, This could be Texas, is filled with moments where the group segues into something almost shocking followed by a section of boundless beauty and elegance. Across 13 tracks, English Teacher ranges from fiery, intricate post-punk to majestic, sweeping folk.
It is intentional that his music falls all over the map. The group, comprised of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Lily Fontaine, guitarist Lewis Whiting, bassist Nicholas Eden and drummer Douglas Frost, pride themselves on their distinct tastes. “We joke that there are very, very few bands that we all agree on,” Whiting tells me during a video call before running down a list of the band's individual influences: Alex Turner, Pulp, Stereolab, The Smiths, Caroline Polachek and Fontaines DC, to name a few.
Despite their varied musical backgrounds, however, one thing becomes abundantly clear when listening to English Teacher: these people can play. “Nearly Daffodils” is an odyssey that features a pair of full-band explosions, fast-paced percussion, and surreal lyrics that make the concept of inevitable change seem like a revelation. “I'm not crying, you're crying” is a fascinating and hypnotic song that strikes a balance between curdled rage and apathy. The grandiose “Sideboob” is hauntingly beautiful and ends with the lyrics “And as the sun sets on your side/Then I fall in love with you.” These songs live off their arrangements; The push and pull between widescreen and intimate is something each member can achieve instinctively.
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Balance is a very important aspect of the English teachers' process, and both Whiting and Fontaine feel it is intuitive. Whiting remembers joining the band years ago after befriending Fontaine at university in Leeds and, according to the guitarist, it just “fit”. “There was a little name change, a reorganization of Lily's previous band… I had an idea of what kind of music Lily's other bands were into at the time, especially with the peak of the 'Windmill' wave of bands. ' from South London. which was inspiring for all of us.”
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