The Athens, Greece-based duo The Noise Figures returned earlier this month with their third studio LP Telepath, out now on Inner Ear Records. Formed in 2013, the group includes percussionist/vocalist George Nikas and guitarist/vocalist Stamos Bamparis. Their newest effort is a concept album about spiritualism and influenced by personal experiences related to the subject. Discussing the album’s title track, and companion song “Hypnotized,” the band explains:
” Telepath” was the first song we composed and recorded during the demo sessions of our third album. Without even knowing where these demos would lead us, we actually had the whole concept of it before the birth of it, just trying out a groove ideal for the gigs and trippy, psychic lyrics. As we were jamming it we came across “Hypnotized”, a slow-burning ritual of hypnotism, and it became one track split in two parts.”
“Telepath” is propelled by a hard-hitting rhythmic insistence that drives this track with a smoldering intensity. The beat anchors the cut’s mantric repetition, and the two elements lend a psychedelic vibe only accentuated by Nikas’ clairvoyant lyrics. Eventually, “Telepath” bleeds into “Hypnotized”‘s slow-burning Blues, and the effect is absorbing. Bamparis’ magnetically charged guitar joins Nikas’ plea to “Stay with me until the end of time,” as his hypnotizing force offers its’ life-affirming potentials.
