THOMAS Sanders, frontman of indie rock band Teleman, is trying to explain the title of his latest record. It’s called Brilliant Sanity and is based on a strand of Buddhist thought.

“It is a term to describe a sudden understanding of who you are and what you want and where you’re going. I could talk about this really well about a year ago but now I’m struggling...it’s too early.”

Maybe The Guide, via Google, can help him out. According to a website called Psychology Today, Brilliant Sanity is, discouragingly, “not something that can be captured in words.” The website gives it a go, nonetheless.

“It is our nature; it is what we are no matter what we might be feeling in any particular moment. We are brilliantly sane if we feel happy; we are brilliantly sane if we feel depressed. We are even brilliantly sane if we feel crazy and totally out of touch with reality.”

If the term suggests some form of ultra clarity, then, for better or worse, it seems to jar with the estrangement witnessed in the lyrics of the record’s title track. “Standing in your daddy’s shoes” in particular signifies the idea of feeling “lost in the world” that Sanders discussed in an interview last year.

Doesn’t such alienation oppose the idea of Brilliant Sanity? “Well, I guess that clarity is something to work towards,” says Sanders. It’s a wry response from a man with a self-depreciative streak, but there can be no doubt that Teleman are currently experiencing their own crystal lising moment.

After three members of jangly indie band Pete and the Pirates formed Teleman, their debut album Breakfast earned plaudits for its distinctive blend of propulsive song structures, crisp production and Sanders’ clipped vocal and catchy melodies.

Brilliant Sanity capitalised on the early acclaim, with singles Dusseldorf and Fall in Time earning considerable radio play. Sanders uses a knowingly mawkish metaphor to explain the band’s rise in profile.

“The group is like a garden, in a way. It’s like you start in a garden and every once in a while new things happen, new things grow. In some ways you can control it and in other ways you can’t. Each part of what we do, we always look for ward to. It feels like a cliche, but it’s a journey we want to keep going. That’s a good quote.”

The release of Fall In Time felt like a landmark moment for Teleman. They had written dramatic, rousing songs before – witness 23 Floors Up from their debut record – but in its emotional mix of dread, uncertainty and ultimately euphoria, it’s a real belter.

“I normally get melodies in my head first, but this time I just sat down and played this descend ing line on the piano. I thought it sounded really sinister and compel ling. I liked the way it kept repeating and I didn’t want it to end.”

Much of the recording for Brilliant Sanity was carried out at night, when things “loosened up a bit”, according to the frontman. “I don’t know how much beer comes into that. We could have slept in the studio – we got quite attached to it.”

There is a certain polish to the group’s sound that is reflected in Sanders’ apparent meticulous ness. While he says Teleman would go into shows in the past “with a rough idea about what we were going to do”, they “set the bar higher now.”

“You reach a certain level of competence playing shows – we want the material to sound as good as it can possibly be.” The frontman says there is “no such thing as the perfect recording”, which could be a disheartening notion, but is quick to add that this revelation also acts as a driving force behind writing better and better material.

Brilliant Sanity hasn’t yet been achieved, and perhaps never will, but for now Teleman can be content with the progress they continue to make.

Teleman, Concorde 2, Madeira Drive, Brighton, Monday, Feb 20, 7.30pm, £14,