Trailer Trash Tracys

Ester

BY Cam LindsayPublished Jan 17, 2012

The group's name suggests some kind of dirty garage romp brought to you via labels like Estrus or In the Red, but Trailer Trash Tracys are a misnomer of the best kind (the name is taken from a death metal bar in Stockholm). Formed as a duo in London, UK by vocalist Susanne Aztoria and guitarist Jimmy-Lee, but now a quartet, Trailer Trash Tracys bend, twist and manipulate sounds, presenting a style somewhere between the Cocteau Twins' gauzy dream pop, Broadcast's retro-futurism and the soundtrack to any great surf flick. Recorded using the "solfeggio scale," which Western guitars and pianos are apparently not pitched to, and possibly even an "animal orchestra," Ester is a shrewd debut made by a daring bunch not afraid to push themselves into the unknown. "Starlatine," which sounds as if it were conceived underwater with myriad sunken instruments, and "Engelhardt's Arizona," an undulating kaleidoscope of guitar noise, give your senses something to marvel at. But even at their most inventive, TTT are specialists in gorgeously nuanced pop music that runs the gamut of forlorn beach pop ("Los Angered"), Twin Peaks-aping shoegaze ("Candy Girl") and crystalline, '50s rebel rock ("You Wish You Were Red"). Essentially, this is the last thing you'd expect from a band named Trailer Trash Tracys, but the best possible outcome imaginable.
(Double Six)

Latest Coverage