Televandals guitarist Nico. WERS, March 31. (Amanda Agueda/WERS)
By Lily Jeong
A spring day in Boston deserves a lively sound like Televandals. While the Boston rock band set up for their on-air set atWERS, late-March sunshine heated the studio, and the band members grew excited to get their sound on the radio.
Despite a few technical difficulties during sound check, Televandals hit New England airwaves running with “Dirty Lovers,” an upbeat punky tune. Along with the vibrant drums and anchoring bass lines, Nico’s spitting vocals add an attacking quality to the song.
While listening to their first song and taking notes, I tried to boil down their sound to one phrase, but it was too hard. There is no single genre that could embrace this band. They have the danceable element of every genre. Their Myspacepage defined them as “Indie/Electro/Punk,” but those three words were not enough to describe Televandals’ explosive spirit.
After warming the studio up with “Dirty Lovers,” Televandals began rocking out to“Arch Nemesis,” featuring roaring bass that shook the entire studio. J Restless’ melodic yet dreamy guitar contrasted with Ride-Out’s heavy drums, but Nick’s punky bass lines brought all the instruments together to complete a spicy dance tune. Televandals finished the set strong with “Good for Nothing,” which reminded me a lot of Talking Heads. Despite the heat in the studio from heavy lighting, band members moved and danced around with full energy and excitement. The song was a perfect example of their punk and new wave influences, and yet clearly displayed Televandals’ own taste and interpretation of the genre.
Such powerful vibe allowed the band to grow bigger than a local band. Televandals recently played at South By Southwest, has shows lined up in New York City, and has a full album coming out in a couple of months.
“… all these things happened so quickly,” said Nico listing all the highpoint of past a year with a huge smile on. “Who knows where we will end up if we keep up like this?”
Moreover, The Boston Phoenix nominated Televandals as The Best Rock Band of 2009. The band appreciates the attention and support, and only plans to strive harder. The Boston scene has been treating this electro-punk quartet with “open arms” as Ride-Out would describe, and with such enthusiasm and distinct sound, Televandals will always be welcomed not only in Boston but any place where people know how to dance.
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