English Teacher’s ‘This Could Be Texas’ Is a Debut That Demands — and Rewards — Your Attention

English Teacher’s debut album This Could Be Texas is a restless, ambitious thing. It wants to be everything at once: post-punk, art rock, folk, jazz, spoken word, pop. It mostly succeeds. The band has made a record that rewards attention and punishes skimming, a debut that announces a group with ideas to spare and the skill to pull them off.

The album opens with “Albatross,” a slow-burning track that sets the tone with its shifting dynamics and literary references. It’s a patient start, easing listeners in before the record’s more chaotic impulses take over.

The World’s Biggest Paving Slab and the Early Highlights

“Albatross” gives way to “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab,” one of the record’s standout moments. It’s a wry, observational track about mundane British life, delivered with a deadpan wit that makes it instantly memorable. The song’s chorus is an earworm, and its guitar work is sharp and precise.

“Broken Biscuits” follows, a track that leans into the band’s more eccentric side. It’s a song about things that fall apart, and the music mirrors that theme with its fractured structure. Not everything here lands, but the ambition is clear.

“I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying” is another highlight. It’s a tender, emotionally direct song that cuts through the album’s more cerebral moments with genuine feeling. The title is a joke, but the song itself is sincere, and that contrast works in its favor.

“Mastermind Specialism” is a dense, knotty track that shows off the band’s technical chops. It’s the kind of song that rewards repeated listens, with time-signature changes and instrumental flourishes that keep the listener on their toes. It’s not the easiest entry point, but it’s a rewarding one.

The Title Track and the Middle Stretch

The title track, “This Could Be Texas,” arrives at the album’s midpoint and serves as its thesis statement. It’s a sprawling, ambitious song that touches on identity, place, and the strange ways we define ourselves. The band’s vocalist, Lily Fontaine, delivers the lyrics with a commanding presence, and the track builds to a satisfying climax.

“Not Everybody Gets to Go to Space” is a more somber affair. It’s a song about missed opportunities and the quiet disappointments of life, and it’s one of the most affecting tracks on the record. The band shows restraint here, letting the lyrics breathe.

“R&B” is a sharp, funny track that plays with genre expectations. It’s not R&B in any traditional sense, but the title feels like a joke the band is in on. It’s one of the shortest songs on the album, and it’s all the better for it.

Nearly Daffodils and the Final Run

“Nearly Daffodils” is a delicate, folk-tinged track that offers a moment of calm before the album’s closing stretch. It’s a song about almost-spring, about things that are almost there but not quite. It’s a lovely, understated piece.

“The Best Tears of Your Life” picks the pace back up with a driving rhythm and a memorable hook. “You Blister My Paint” is a more abrasive, guitar-heavy track that shows the band’s punk influences. “Sideboob” is a playful, tongue-in-cheek number that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

The album closes with “Albert Road,” a track that references a street. It’s a fitting end, a song about home and the people who make it one. It’s a warm, nostalgic note to end on, and it ties the album together thematically.

A Debut That Demands Attention

This Could Be Texas is not a background album. It demands attention, and it rewards it. The band’s willingness to experiment, to twist and complicate every song, is what makes the record so compelling.

The album has its weaker moments. Some tracks feel overstuffed, and the constant shifts can be exhausting. But the overall impression is one of confidence and ambition. This is a band that knows what it wants to do and has the skills to do it.

The critical consensus backs this up. Metacritic gives the album a score of 88 out of 100.

Tracks worth your time:

• “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab”
• “I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying”
• “R&B”
• “Nearly Daffodils”
• “This Could Be Texas”
• “Not Everybody Gets to Go to Space”

This is a debut that announces a band with a clear voice and a bright future. It’s messy, ambitious, and thoroughly entertaining. It’s everything you want from a first record.

2024 albums · album review · British rock · English Teacher · post-punk