Crush

Not a band, Telepath is the work of producer Michael Christie, working on the third album under the Telepath name with several different singers on a disc whose melodies vary quite schizophrenically between Jamaica ("Justify" and "Freedom") and the Indian subcontinent (much of the rest), all backed by heavy beats. The biggest difference from his earlier work is the preponderance of vocals; this is very definitely an album of songs rather than tunes. Remarkably, the majority of the performances are phoned in — or at least the digital equivalent. Of 12 instrumentalists, seven recorded remotely, as did six of the nine singers. So, by its very nature, it's an album of distance. There is good material here, with "Mama" a standout, the horns filling and swelling superbly, along with "In This Time," which features a very ‘60s sitar sound. Christie is responsible for most of the material and he could perhaps benefit from an editor. Being composer, producer, mixer, and recording engineer as well as the main performer simply doesn't allow for any objectivity, any outside voice, and this would have benefited from that on some pieces that don't make the grade beyond good.