I wonder sometimes if there is such a thing as an archetypal New York singer songwriter. Admittedly, it is one of many things that I wonder about but it is the only one actually relevant to the task of reviewing Teletextile's album "Glass".
Teletextile is, of course, Pamela Martinez and her collective of musical compadres and they ably accompany her on eleven songs of musings, intellectual curiosity and oddball artistry. Ms Martinez must, I assume, like long walks in the rainy streets of the metropolis as many of the songs here are infused with melancholy and that sense of displaced wonder that puddles of dirty water inspire as they get capture the headlights of passing cars. Balancing that is a very civilised elegance in approach that at times verges on over polite as if to give offence was a greater crime than to challenge.
Perhaps the best example of what I have described is "John" although "What If You" loses only a little to it in terms of atmosphere.
"Glass" is an album of the city for the city. It isn't about open spaces or times past but more a reflection on being trapped, heartbroken, in the urban prison.