For the vanguard of the punk revolution of the late '70s, mainstream recognition has not been a predictor of longevity. The Sex Pistols were through before the decade was out, and even relatively durable names like The Clash and The Jam split before the '80s were old.
Just outside the general consciousness, however, enormously influential acts such as The Fall have been skirting the fringes for nearly 30 years, surviving line-up changes and near bankruptcy to inspire entire genres of music.
London's Television Personalities fall into this category. Springing up in 1977, the group spent two decades in relative obscurity producing clever, inventive post-punk that would not only later inspire everyone from Pavement to Nirvana, but also pop up in such unlikely places as Mike Skinner's off-kilter delivery. In 2004 when frontman Dan Treacy announced his release from a British prison ship, he ended a six-year disappearance from public view and also the growing rumors that he had died.
It has been two years since then, and Treacy and his bandmates have finally ended their musical hiatus with My Dark Places, the band's first album in eight years and its best in a decade and a half. The time off seems to have left him full of ideas, and because of this My Dark Places is one of the most fascinatingly erratic albums in years.
One of the most charming traits and maddening paradoxes of Television Personalities has always been its ability to demonstrate a keen awareness of the current music scene while simultaneously mashing genres as if completely oblivious to overriding trends. In an indie scene inundated with post-punk bands (many of whom are still taking queues from the Television Personalities' back catalog), Treacy and company are the only ones who sound rooted just as strongly in Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd as in punk and New Wave.
With My Dark Places, the band's loopy experiments make the transition to a new millennium. On Velvet Underground,\ Treacy muses self-consciously on his own musical career over a 1950s-style piano riff before asking the titular question, ""How did the Velvet Underground get that sound?"" The album's oddly chosen first single, ""All the Young Children on Crack,"" is one of the disc's most avant-garde tracks, with Treacy's oddly affecting, childlike vocals standing almost completely lone over a programmed drumbeat and handclaps.
As the title suggests, My Dark Places is a predominantly sad and personal record. Songs like ""Sick Again"" and ""I'm Not Your Typical Boy"" give a picture of Treacy's personality as simultaneously sad, sweet, innocent and cynical. ""Knock it All Down,"" on the other hand, sounds like unadulterated depression.
Fortunately, My Dark Places is rescued from overwhelming gloom by Treacy's self-depreciating wit and endlessly quotable lyrics. On ""Ex-Girlfriend Club,"" perhaps the album's best and most bizarre track, he spits out lines like ""Have a nice day / I'm gradually turning gay"" and the overly literal gem ""Welcome to my ex-girlfriend club / Enjoy the salad bar."" Late in the song, whether simply joking or actually reassuring fans, Treacy's words ring true when he claims ""Don't be fooled by the rocks / I'm still Danny from the block.""\
