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Rating: It can certainly be said that the Television Personalities are one of the most underrated groups in the diverse world known as post-punk. For this very reason, I am here to tell you about this CD, which is, in chronological order, the second in their decently extensive discography.
The album in question was released between 1981 and 1982, deeply resonating with the atmosphere prevailing in England during those years. In fact, with this second effort, the group led by Dan Treacy leaves behind, at least in part, the playful and carefree moods of "And Don't the Kids just Love It", their debut album, to move towards territories similar to those explored by Joy Division just a couple of years earlier. This shift is clearly visible in "A Day in Heaven"—a track where a sparse, obsessive base is punctuated by background rustles and a keyboard that makes the piece even gloomier. The same atmosphere can be found in "David Hockney's Diaries", where the main feature is our good Treacy's dragging and suffering voice. But as mentioned above, the moods of their debut album are only partially abandoned. In tracks like "Painting by Numbers" or "Magnificent Dreams", one can find that punk sprinkled with psychedelia that winks at Syd "crazy diamond" Barrett, considered rightly or wrongly the artistic godfather of Dan Treacy.
Ultimately, this album can, all things considered, be regarded as a transitional record that will eventually lead to the definitive shift with the subsequent "The Painted World". But it is precisely this distinctive trait that contains the beauty of this album, in the precarious balance between the two souls that characterize this group—a balance excellently explained by the alienated "Scream Quietly".
An album to own.
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