Tellison are a band I expected I’d see rise and rise over the course of their careers. I first saw them back in 2007, supporting Hell is for Heroes at Exeter Cavern and having never heard them before, was instantly grabbed by their catchy hooks and infectious energy. At the time, we were at peak ‘landfill indie’ with average guitar-pop bands dominating the charts, but these guys brought something different to the table. Lyrically, they were knowing and smart, they knew how to write a big chorus and their playful vocal interplay was seriously on point. A few years later, I went to uni, and via the medium of last.fm, I became much more au fait with the scene they emerged from, my taste evolving as I heard more and more records from labels like Big Scary Monsters, Alcopop! And Banquet. But when second album The Wages of Fear came out, I felt like it gave Tellison every chance of being the band from this wave to truly crack the mainstream.
Except they didn’t. Instead, they became the sort of cult success that continually packs out the UK’s small venues, but never grows beyond them. At one point, the band saw this as a marker of failure, as documented on 2015’s Hope Fading Nightly. However, as this joyous night at Gulliver’s proves, they’ve grown to see the beauty and bliss in filling rooms with an audience that truly cares for what they’re doing.
In support tonight is Big Loss from Northampton. Well, sort of from Northampton, they admit they very rarely get to practise together as guitarist/singer Joel Harries now lives here in Manchester. You wouldn’t think it, given the impressively tight set of modern emo they deliver. Especially notable are the harmonies displayed by Harries and fellow singer/bassist Jo Collis as well as his deftly intricate fretwork. There’s a subtle angst to tracks like ‘Three Knots Unravelling’ which belies the twinkly chorus-washed guitar they favour and I would certainly seek them out again.
I must admit, we misjudge our drink break between bands and by the time we make it back into the room, Tellison are halfway through opener ‘Helix and Ferman’. However, even at the back, punters are already dancing and singing along enthusiastically, and we need to squeeze our way in. The energy on the floor is more than matched by that of the band on-stage, as they launch into further fan favourites including ‘Edith’ and ‘Boy’. Despite their last Manchester show coming 4 ½ years ago, it’s like they’ve never been away. It’s almost like a group karaoke session in the best possible way.
Eventually, things slow down with semi-ballad ‘Freud Links the Teeth and the Heart’. This is classically a moment for the crowd to hit full-voice, and one miscue among the audience provides a big laugh, coming as it does at the quietest moment in the song. Frontman Stephen Davidson laughs it off, sparing their blushes as he tells us he’d made the exact same mistake two nights earlier in front of a packed Scottish crowd. This moment of self-deprecation encapsulates everything the audience has come to love about Tellison. While misfortune has led to their massive choruses never quite being matched by the size of audience they’ve reached, they offer catharsis for all those who gather together to belt them out in unison.
Some of the biggest reactions tonight come for raucous renditions of early songs from their repertoire. ‘Reader’ incites one person to shout out, seemingly involuntarily, ‘it’s 2007 and I’m young again!’, while ‘Amory’ sees a frenetic dance of bodies at the front. Before the show draws to a close, Davidson pronounces that they’re finally releasing a new album, 8 years on from their last, though he is coy when asked about its ‘percentage completion’. The way the band triumphantly thump their way through closer ‘Get On’ suggests that they’re finally happy with where they’re at as a band. Maybe, just maybe the best is yet to come for those who are part of this exclusive club of fans.
SOUNDS TASTY 