Telenova: Finding Beauty in the Breakdown
Telenova vocalist and songwriter Angeline Armstrong spoke to The Note about the band’s metamorphosis, her Christian faith and her favourite lyric from their new record THE WARNING.
Words Tobias Handke // Image Nick McKinlay
It’s been just a touch over a month since art rock outfit Telenova released their sophomore album THE WARNING. Volatile and vulnerable, the album reflects the anxiety of the modern world and lays bare the issues that plagued the three-piece over the past 18 months.
There’s a gritty darkness that weaves through the album’s ten tracks, with the trio of vocalist Angeline Armstrong and multi-instrumentalists and producers Edward Quinn and Joshua Moriarty airing their fears, frustrations and failures – ultimately finding unity in the chaos. It’s Telenova’s most personal album and one Armstrong says she is “very proud of.”
“We sort of set out to write an album that no matter how it's received, we wanted to make sure we love it,” Armstrong says over Zoom from her apartment. “We’ve been proud of it before it even came out, and now that other people are enjoying it, it's the cherry on top.”
Telenova had an auspicious start, with the three members first meeting at an APRA AMCOS SongHubs camp in early 2020, brought together by former Death Cab For Cutie member and producer Chris Walla. Two EPs followed, Tranquillize (2021) and Stained Glass Love (2022), before the release of the group’s inspiring 2024 debut album Time Is A Flower. Debuting at #2 on the ARIA Australian Albums Chart, Telenova found themselves touring the globe and indulging in the excess that comes with releasing a hit record.
This proved a tipping point for Moriaty. After ten years of sobriety, he began drinking again as the band entered the studio to write and record THE WARNING. Armstrong confesses there was “unease” between the trio during this period and that there was “a lot of personal stuff that needed addressing.”
Comparing the situation to living in “parallel worlds”, Armstrong discusses Telenova trying to act like everything was normal in the studio as things fell apart on the outside. “We were carrying on as usual, writing songs, [and] it became a question of whether the band was going to continue. Even my management were aware that the strain was considerable to the point of questioning what would this band look like if it was different people. Could it continue if some members weren't a part of it? Would we even want that? To start questioning the band as it exists, as the three of us, was really difficult. I'm so glad it never got to that point. I can't imagine this band existing with a different configuration of people.”
The recording of THE WARNING might have been a chaotic experience, but it strengthened the bonds between the three and enabled Telenova to create their most authentic work yet.
Take opening track ‘THE DEEP’, a nearly six-minute anxiety-inducing assault Armstrong says “captured something really true to [their] experience” of making the album. Or ‘IN THE NAME OF YOUR LOVE’, a euphoric explosion of indie goodness that finds Armstrong singing, “Now I cry and I curse and I scream at the heavens above / But it's you that I want and I'll bleed in the name of your love”. On the surface, it could be interpreted as a love song, but dig a little deeper, and there’s an underlying message about opening yourself up to a higher power and putting your faith in the unknown.
Does Armstrong have a favourite song or lyric from THE WARNING?
“The one that's really sticking out to me at the moment is not even a chorus lyric, it's just in verse two of ‘MOUNTAIN LION // ADORE’: ‘Oh, is that the greatest price?’
“I think there's so many different pathways that people can surrender our lives to or watch someone [we] know surrender to. I think about the importance of being aware of what you're giving your life to. It can be a relationship, it can be ambition, it can be drugs. There's consequences or implications to what you choose to give your life to, so that's why that line resonates with me.”
Atheistically, THE WARNING has a feel of danger, with song titles written in all caps and the prominent use of the colours red and green. It helps convey the tension the band experienced during the creation of the album, and as Armstrong confirms, it was a deliberate choice.
“This album is just a time of alarm and a time of panic and unease. It felt like capital letters get [this] across. I think it has a psychological impact on people when you read the titles in that format and the colour palette as well. The sound of this record, and the time of this record, just always felt like a sort of cool-toned, bluey green. It explores this dissatisfaction or unease with the modern world. And then red is obviously the colour of alarm and warning signs. So that felt like a no-brainer.”
Next up is a national tour before Telenova jets to Europe for a run of shows. Armstrong is looking forward to these dates and believes the shows will strengthen their relationship with fans.
“Being on stage where there's a spotlight on all of us, and there's an audience there to go through it with us, is a whole other thing. It's like retelling the story in person. I think there's going to be a real power to that that hasn't been as present. Also musically, it is a little more complex than our other records, so that also really locks us in as musicians. It's challenging in an exciting way.”
Catch Telenova performing at Lion Arts Factory on Friday 10 April. Tickets on sale now via moshtix.com.au.
