Take Your Pictures Off The Wall

Tchotchke “Don’t Hang Up On Me”

The melodies and structure of “Don’t Hang Up On Me” feel so particular to the 1970s that it can be a bit hard to believe it was actually written and recorded in the recent past. And while that statement can be true of a lot of songs that come out, Tchotchke’s music feels all the more unlikely because the melodic style they’re drawing on feels much more extinct than other strains of ‘70s music that are still prevalent like disco, funk, punk, and hard rock. This comes more from a squeeky-clean but kinda glam 70s power-pop aesthetic where the ultimate aim of any song is to pack as many hooks into two to three minutes as possible. (A good example of what I’m talking about is this wonderful but very obscure mid 70s song “Champagne and the Starline,” which I posted here ages ago.) Even the vocals feel out of time, high pitched and hyper-femme in an arch sort of way, signaling a wink to the listener even as the lyrics confront genuine romantic angst.

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