This Could Be Texas
This Could Be Texas gives English Teacher plenty of room to show their range. The band move between sharp post-punk, melodic indie rock, quieter piano passages and more complicated changes without losing their sense of humour. Lily Fontaine's voice provides a clear thread through it all. She can sound conversational, forceful or fragile, depending on what the song needs.
Albatross introduces that flexibility with piano and strings around the guitar arrangement. The World's Biggest Paving Slab is more direct, bringing a firm rhythm and a strong melody to thoughts about ordinary people trying to claim some space. R&B has a harder edge, with Fontaine pushing back against assumptions about who she is and what kind of music she should make. The personal focus gives its aggression a clear purpose.
The album also finds good material in less dramatic settings. Broken Biscuits turns frustration with everyday life into an active, shifting song, while Albert Road brings a more reflective view of growing up and wanting to leave. Fontaine is good at making small observations feel worth following. The music gives those details room instead of forcing every line into a large chorus.
The title track takes a wider route. A lighter opening grows into a much fuller arrangement, then settles again, showing how naturally the band can move beyond a straightforward guitar song. I'm Not Crying, You're Crying is another strong meeting point between clear melody and more detailed playing. You Blister My Paint goes further into a softer vocal approach, offering an emotional centre that does not depend on volume.
Not every extra turn improves the song around it. With so many changes and small instrumental additions, some passages feel too occupied, and the full album can lose focus when one strong idea is quickly followed by another. The more direct tracks sometimes make a clearer impression than the most ambitious ones.
That is a manageable limitation on a debut with this much personality. This Could Be Texas joins imaginative arrangements to a voice that sounds alert to the world outside the rehearsal room. English Teacher make thoughtful guitar music that remains approachable, with melody and humour keeping the larger ideas connected to everyday experience.
