Ester (Double Six/Domino,2012)
Inhabiting their own beautifully dark, ethereal corner of the musical universe, poised somewhere at the crossroads between the nocturnal, rolling soundscapes of Angelo Badalamenti and the sublime, naive melodies of 50s pop, Trailer Trash Tracys are a deliciously unique proposition. Ester’ neatly combines elements including the dream pop of Beach House, the sweet nocturnal melancholy of The xx and the sonic exploration of My Bloody Valentine to form an album that’s streets apart from any of its contemporaries.
Recorded by the band themselves on a “solfeggio scale” – a scale to which, apparently, western guitars and pianos are not pitched to – Ester is an ambitious achievement that marries an experimental urge with a love for the standards and classics of pop eternal.
The freeform intro “Rolling - Kiss The Universe” leads us into Trailer Trash Tracys’ own otherworldy sonic space in which their ideas play freely. Deep and hazy sonic textures drift around singer Suzanne Aztoria’s gossamer light vocals, which sound as though they were beamed from another dimension, evoking a sensual, yet unnerving tension. The album progresses to reveal ever expanding possibilities, running the gamut from the spiralling guitar shreds of “Engelhardt’s Arizona” to the gloriously seductive and brooding pop of "You Wish You Were Red”, out to the delicate, pinprick orchestrations of “Starlatine”. The smouldering slow-burn of “Turkish Heights”, meanwhile, closes the album in poignant style, romantic, dreamy and sincere, revealing a tender heart beating indelibly inside the machine.
With “Ester”, the inimitable world of Trailer Trash Tracys is brought to haunting, vivid life (in a visual sense as well, with Kurt Ralske responsible for the artwork) – a little off-kilter, a little askew, but nothing less than utterly beguiling and completely memorable. Treasure them now.
