There are two things to remember about trailer Trash Tracys: 1) theyre not some heavy metal band (as the name may incline one to think); 2) neither are they American (again, as may be presumed by the moniker). What they are is a four-piece London shoegaze-esque, drippy dream-pop affair, who sound like a Warpaint/Cocteau Twins/Dum Dum Girls mash-up, channelling a West Coast vibe circa early 80s, via a David Lynch soundtrack. The third thing, from witnessing their headlining show at The Lexington, is that their set is short. Despite going through ten numbers, they came and went in under 40 minutes flat.
Following on from their recent European tour with The Vaccines and prior to UK dates with The Maccabees tonight was essentially a full live airing of their debut album Ester (released three days before) after their signing to Double Six Records last year. As they run through the raft of material, whilst possessing a cool art-pop style achieved, not in part, by the presence of breathy-voiced frontwoman Suzanne Aztoria, an androgynous, charcoal-eyed figure and use of both Aztorias sumptuous falsetto, swooning synths and reverb-drenched guitar wooziness, what becomes apparent is there is little diversity from the lo-lo-fi, slow-slow-mo. Not that it is unlovely, just that it starts to come over as, well, a little hollow.
The guitar of Jimmy Lee and Adam Jaffreys bass are said to be tuned to the Solfeggio scale more easy on the ear which echoes the vibe of My Bloody Valentine. But while the dreamy textures wash over you, they somehow leave nothing behind in their wake; no catchy hooks that youre going to be humming on the night bus home. From Rolling Kiss The Universe with flowing drum beats and synth flourishes, through the Warpaint-lite You Wish You Were Red (their recent single), the Twin Peaksd bassline of Candy Girl, to the electro upbeat Dies In 55, it is all very much carried along on one level.
Rather like a delicious, but unfilling, Chinese meal, Trailer Trash Tracys leave you somehow not quite replenished enough to pass up the offer of a few more spring rolls.