Trans Am - California Hotel (Thrill Jockey Records)
Vinyl
9/10
22 April 2017
Review by Jay.
Talk about an opener! Straight in, no lubrication, no kissing, just an
instantly pounding, distorted, vocoderised punk tune. Filled with a bit of My
Bloody Valentine, just a pinch, and flying forwards in a cacophony of intense
electric guitars and synths ‘I Hear Fake Voices’ is a totally amazing
synth-prog tune with massive production and Trans Am are on form already.
Entering into ‘Staying Power’ we have a dirty bass awash with chorus,
harmonised distorted guitars and a roomy and great sounding drum kit. It’s like
all the great alternative underground music has come rushing back with a bang
and it’s fantastically timeless, pushes convention and keeps you listening.
‘Ship Of The Imagination’ has such a tasty synth opening it up and the drums are so lush they
really drive it along. Hypnotic bass, sexy riffs and an early-Genesis meets The
Ex thrusts it into the stratosphere and when it drops you could almost shit
yourself. It turns into Doctor Who meets Steve Reich at one point. Crazy music
with no boundaries...the best kind. ‘Alles Verboten’ could almost be
what Big Black might have sounded like if they’d been led by Earth-destroying
robots from a post-apocalyptic future of industrial destruction. Its gritty,
raw, prog-disco-punk hyphenated Ozric Tentacles madness is almost too much to
handle so it’s a nice escape into ‘California Hotel’. To be honest
escaping into the California Hotel would be like walking into a scene from some
surreal David Lynch movie with all the vintage synthesizers, swirling pads and
electronic drum machines. It’s a mellow, slightly creepy ethereal trip and
let’s you float away for a bit.
‘I Want 2B Ignored’ is like music for androids. Sad, lonely androids. Androids who want to cut their wires and let themselves short circuit in the pulsing tones of melancholy sweetness. Melodic vocoder vocals repeat over the top of droning synths that build and build into normal human vocals and end up fading away in a sea of reverb. Gorgeous. Then ‘Expansions’ arrives and it’s like some bizarre version of ‘I’m Not In Love’ by 10CC but playing as you’re having some kind of sleep paralysis with demons arriving at the bottom of your bed. It’s a short one and a half minute interlude before ‘Rules Of Engagement’ finishes the album in a sultry, synth fuelled 90’s vibe. It has a massively authentic sound and wouldn’t go amiss on the soundtrack to Stranger Things with it’s deep groove and almost Eastern scales. It’s quite sad when it all ends to be honest so starting it from the beginning again is highly recommended. Play, listen, repeat. What an album. Welcome back Trans Am.
Published on Louder Than War 25/03/17 - here
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