“My Dark Places” is a paranoid, woozy and tangible wreck, indicative of the dark places Television Personalities mastermind Dan Treacy has been over the last eight or so years. And Treacy knows how to get a wreck done right. Arriving on the other side of drugs and jail, TVP expresses melancholy and mania via what are still, in essence, solid pop songs.
His disembodied voice overlays lo-fi, haphazard cuts like “All The Young Children on Crack” and positively sticks out on cheery, better-produced tracks like “They’ll Have To Catch Us First.” Saddies like “Sick Again” and “Ex-Girlfriend Club” excel not necessarily from the strength of the melody but because of the memorable delivery. In old fashion (as Treacy has never been prone to create in-fashion music), TVP straddles the line between pop parody and sincerity with songs like the gentle “No More I Hate Yous” and early the rock’n’roll-inspired “Velvet Underground.” Much like American bon savant Daniel Johnston, Treacy delivers an array of challenging yet simple tunes that are often irresistible. — Katie Hasty
