Telekinesis

Telekinesis is the songwriting vehicle of Michael Benjamin Lerner, whose music splits the difference between summery indie rock and buoyant power pop. A multi-instrumentalist who usually plays all the instruments on his Telekinesis recordings, Lerner achieved a classic pop sound on early efforts like 2009's Telekinesis! and 2011's 12 Desperate Straight Lines, but shifted his focus to vintage synth pop on 2015's Ad Infinitum, while 2019's Effluxion struck a balance between the two sides.

Based in Seattle, Lerner handled most of the instrumental duties on his band's debut, Telekinesis!, which was produced by Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla and released in spring 2009. Telekinesis then launched a tour in support of the record, with auxiliary members Chris Staples, David Broecker, and Jonie Broecker filling out the lineup. On the 2010 EP Parallel Seismic Conspiracies, Lerner took over production duties, but for his next full LP, 12 Desperate Straight Lines, he was back to working with Walla. For the tour that accompanied the release, Lerner formed a new band with Jason Narducy on bass and Cody Votolato on guitar. Lerner's third outing under the Telekinesis moniker, 2013's Dormarion, found the one-man band enlisting the help of Spoon drummer/producer Jim Eno.

Lerner spent the next two years immersing himself in the world of vintage synths and keyboards in anticipation of the band's retro synth pop-heavy fourth studio album, Ad Infinitum, which dropped in September 2015. Lerner struck a balance between the clean electronic textures of Ad Infinitum and the more organic approach of his earlier work on the album Effluxion, released in February 2019. ~ Andrew Leahey