London four piece Trailer Trash Tracys certainly have a terrific name, obviously not bothered whether the plural of Tracy is technically Tracies, and determined to do things their way. They have built a solid following, supported both The Horrors and The xx and I wouldn’t bet against them outlasting both. Their debut album 'Ester' comes out on Domino, one of the most enlightened labels of the last two decades.
'Ester' starts with a psychedelic flashback - 'Rolling – Kiss The Universe' – worthy of Japanese supergroup Acid Mothers Temple, and then breaks into 'Baba O’Riley' by The Who (well at least the opening riff to single 'You Wish You Were Red' uses the same three-note phrase) So all the cards are on the table nice and early. Retro, David Lynch soaked, echoplexed songs are their core mode with some flashes of dissonance and almost My Bloody Valentine moments. As someone nearly said, it may or may not be rock and roll but I like it.
Suzanne Aztoria has a great voice, both gritty and ethereal, as evidenced on their breakthrough single 'Candy Girl' and musically they keep pulling the rabbits out of the sack. Whether lost in the winding paths of 'Engelhardt’s Arizona' or building the chiming lines of 'Strangling Good Guys' they have an immensely wide and effective vocabulary.
The album is perfectly paced and the time they’ve put into its development – 'Candy Girl' was first released in 2009 - has been rewarded with a set of songs that hang together but stand each on their own. Of course as many have found that can be a hard act to follow but for now Trailer Trash Tracys should be proud of a fine record, which gets 2012 off to a really good start.
8.0/10
Find more info at trailertrashtracys.com. 'Ester' is available to purchase at iTunes, amazon.co.uk etc.
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