Posted on: August 13, 2010 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

The energy in which The Trolleyvox start out their “The Karaoke Meltdown” is pretty impressive, to say the least. “Just You Wait” is able to gain a little bit fro the punk spirit with its splashy drums and powerful vocals. The fact that the track is done and over with barely after the song hits the two minute mark shows further evidence for this link. However, the main stylistic influence of The Trolleyvox has to be the alternative bands of the early nineties.

The track “Just You Wait” is fueled by the aforementioned drums but also with emotional and dense guitar lines that seem to pull themselves directly from the “Eponymous” album of R.E.M., or anything by Sunny Day Real Estate. The disc’s second full track is “I Am Annabelle”, and the song has a slower tempo. However, what is snot changed between the two tracks is the intensity of both tracks. A raunchy set of guitars come up during this track that bring The Trolleyvox into a rock paradigm. The tempo seems to decrease through the first three tracks, until The Trolleyvox get into the contemplative and quiet “I Know That You’re High”.

The layered approach used by the band on earlier tracks is still there, and the vocals are what in this track brings the intensity of The Trolleyvox up to an appreciable level. “Deep Bleu Central” solidifies the band’s position as an American band, as the metronome-like sound in the background of the track seems to stir up feelings of an earlier period more than anything different in terms of geographic locale or newer time periods. The band’s next single comes during “Stoplight Roses”, which is another slower track but brings back the catchy chorus to the repertoire of The Trolleyvox. The unity of the band is shown during this track, as each other part of The Trolleyvox throws in in creating a full sound. The Trolleyvox make a full album that has a number of singles present in its thirteen-track runtime. There is nothing left that The Trolleyvox need to show to their fans, and I look forward to subsequent albums by the band. The style of music that they create is fundamentally different than most other acts on the market currently, so hopefully more bands will be able to create their own innovative style in the wake of “The Karaoke Meltdowns” dropping. Pick it up.

Top Tracks: Stoplight Roses, Twilight Hotel

Rating: 7.2/10

The Trolleyvox – The Karaoke Meltdowns / 2006 Transit of Venue / 13 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/thetrolleyvox / http://www.transitofvenusmusic.com / Reviewed 27 October 2006

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