Trembling Blue Stars

Trembling Blue Stars are very good at what they do. That isn’t meant to be an insult, merely an observation. Bobby Wratten has few peers when it comes to writing classic indie pop and that’s very apparent on Exploring The Shadows, their new EP. The first two tracks would make the perfect seven-inch single. "Beautiful Blank” is what the world has come to expect from Trembling Blue Stars, with gorgeous vocals by Beth Azry, while "Easy As Being Alone” is as close as Wratten has gotten to reproducing the glory days of the Field Mice in a long, long time. And the remaining two songs that round out the EP aren’t too bad either. While there isn’t anything surprising on Exploring The Shadows, it’s a very solid piece of work that harkens back to Wratten’s days on Sarah Records when every song he wrote felt like something he really wanted to share with the world. And back then, his singles were always better than his albums as well.