Trim The Barber - EP
Further to our review of Trim The Barber recently, they sent us through a link to their EP in full so we could hear their finished product, the below tracks being a selection of tracks which they’ve been releasing over the last year or so. As such, based on what I’d heard before, I thought it only right I see how they’d gotten on with their production of a fully fledged EP!
Occupation certainly demonstrates that this is a band who have been on a journey together, taking the tracks which they’ve produced before and throwing them all into a melting pot before crafting their final draft. Relatively simple as it grows, the track seems to build around you as the drums and guitar combine, forming a sound which borders on the atmospheric at times, but always keeps a sense of honest, real music flowing through things. Not following convention is something which seems to come naturally to the guys in the band, so it’s no wonder that this track doesn’t follow the conventions of a normal track, but as it grows it ceases to matter, all that matters is the music which you’re being treated to. Haunting and dark yet somehow uplifting and intriguing, this is one hell of an opening to an EP and suggests very good things to follow!
Autocue follows on with the idea of not doing what they’re supposed to, opening with a bass heavy sound to accompany the soft and haunting vocal line. The mix here once again seems to drag you in, crafting a sound which is going to make you question what you thought you knew about music but reassuring you that there are bands out there who are producing music the way THEY want to do it. Layered vocals, soft and hard guitar lines, pounding drums and rumbling bass – it’s all here and all works well to craft a sound which is sure to become the signature of this tightly formed unit. Digitalis on the other hand is a moment of pure genius, and probably my personal favourite track off of the EP. The sound from the off is once again firmly based around the bass, the drums and guitar effects merely serving to back up the monotone approach, forming a sound which is once again going to stay with you. Harking back to the sounds of punk combined with the likes of The Cure, the sound here is incredibly hard to pigeon hole into a genre, but at the same time I’m not sure it needs to be. It’s a good sound, one which is relaxing whilst still keeping a sense of energy flowing through it, somehow continuing to combine atmospheric with post-punk, hard with soft, and all the time keeping things moving at a pace which makes you want to get out and see them live.
Closing with Reality the band seem to be showing off what they can do when they feel like going a little heavier – throwing into a hard hitting intro of guitars and pounding drums. The mix here moves away from the atmospheric style and moves us firmly towards the energetic approach, making you want to move, getting the crowd going and showing they’re not just a one trick pony. This final hurrah of power is a real treat on the album, and a moment which is going to convert a hell of a lot of people to the ways of the Barber. If you want confirmation that real music is alive and well – you only need listen to this as it’s got everything you could possibly want right here!
When I listened to the first few tracks from Trim The Barber I wasn’t sure about what I was hearing, their sound seemed jumbled and uncertain at times, but this EP has changed all of that. What you’ve got here is evidence of progression, evidence of a band who have worked to refine their sound and an EP which does that work justice. Before long I can imagine there’s going to be a lot of people listening to Trim The Barber, so get on and join in!
Words: Dave Nicholls
Occupation certainly demonstrates that this is a band who have been on a journey together, taking the tracks which they’ve produced before and throwing them all into a melting pot before crafting their final draft. Relatively simple as it grows, the track seems to build around you as the drums and guitar combine, forming a sound which borders on the atmospheric at times, but always keeps a sense of honest, real music flowing through things. Not following convention is something which seems to come naturally to the guys in the band, so it’s no wonder that this track doesn’t follow the conventions of a normal track, but as it grows it ceases to matter, all that matters is the music which you’re being treated to. Haunting and dark yet somehow uplifting and intriguing, this is one hell of an opening to an EP and suggests very good things to follow!
Autocue follows on with the idea of not doing what they’re supposed to, opening with a bass heavy sound to accompany the soft and haunting vocal line. The mix here once again seems to drag you in, crafting a sound which is going to make you question what you thought you knew about music but reassuring you that there are bands out there who are producing music the way THEY want to do it. Layered vocals, soft and hard guitar lines, pounding drums and rumbling bass – it’s all here and all works well to craft a sound which is sure to become the signature of this tightly formed unit. Digitalis on the other hand is a moment of pure genius, and probably my personal favourite track off of the EP. The sound from the off is once again firmly based around the bass, the drums and guitar effects merely serving to back up the monotone approach, forming a sound which is once again going to stay with you. Harking back to the sounds of punk combined with the likes of The Cure, the sound here is incredibly hard to pigeon hole into a genre, but at the same time I’m not sure it needs to be. It’s a good sound, one which is relaxing whilst still keeping a sense of energy flowing through it, somehow continuing to combine atmospheric with post-punk, hard with soft, and all the time keeping things moving at a pace which makes you want to get out and see them live.
Closing with Reality the band seem to be showing off what they can do when they feel like going a little heavier – throwing into a hard hitting intro of guitars and pounding drums. The mix here moves away from the atmospheric style and moves us firmly towards the energetic approach, making you want to move, getting the crowd going and showing they’re not just a one trick pony. This final hurrah of power is a real treat on the album, and a moment which is going to convert a hell of a lot of people to the ways of the Barber. If you want confirmation that real music is alive and well – you only need listen to this as it’s got everything you could possibly want right here!
When I listened to the first few tracks from Trim The Barber I wasn’t sure about what I was hearing, their sound seemed jumbled and uncertain at times, but this EP has changed all of that. What you’ve got here is evidence of progression, evidence of a band who have worked to refine their sound and an EP which does that work justice. Before long I can imagine there’s going to be a lot of people listening to Trim The Barber, so get on and join in!
Words: Dave Nicholls
Trim The Barber
Formed from a sense of despair at the alienation and devolution of modern life, Trim The Barber are set to release their self-titled debut EP in April of this year, and it promises to be something pretty damned epic. Already known for explosively loud audio-visual live performances, the band have been playing all over the UK, forming their sound and crafting their tracks to perfection ready to unleash them on the world. As such, when guitarist Paddy dropped me a line, how could I refuse the chance to check them out?
All We Can Be doesn’t really give a lot away about the style of the band as it opens, sounding like a combination of early punk and dark gothic influences, all pinned together with a strange sense of melody. The mix which opens the track soon begins to fade into a deeper track, the sound seeming to grow as it progresses and making you question exactly what you’re hearing. What’s most striking here is that the band aren’t following a convention, they’re not basing their music on any one genre, instead allowing it to build into its own unique sound and packing a punch as it goes. Deep, powerful and strangely addictive, there’s an almost hypnotic quality about things here, somehow managing to draw you into the dark melee of elements and making you want to know what’s coming next.
Now The Joke Is On You marks a significant change on the EP, this time launching into a sludgy riff fuelled track, once again harking to the origins of punk yet firmly stamping their own sound on it. Catchy whilst somehow still unconventional, this track is one which seems to be crafted for the live scene, packing enough punch to get the crowd involved yet enough catchiness to get everyone singing along after a couple of listens. For me, the most striking moment on this track was the mid-section featuring the guitar solo, not for the solo but for the mix which formed, the music changed into an atmospheric mix, grabbing your attention once again and renewing that question in your mind about how they’re going to follow it! The answer to the question is presented in Free Falling, another track which airs on the stranger side of things yet still somehow manages to work to continue the EP forwards. Basing the track around the vocals, there’s once again a sense of darkness flowing through this one, adopting a sound which nods towards their influences, yet still presents us with moments of questionable progression. Elements like a wood block are thrown in, bongos, dual vocal lines and string synth sound, they’re all here and somehow make this track work, yet quite honestly, it shouldn’t. Despite the strange combination, this is actually a seriously high point on the EP, and a track which I would highly advise you to check out.
Always Delayed closes the EP and once again, raises a question in my mind – where did this come from. Launching head first into a distorted yet melodic mix of guitars and rumbling bass, there’s once again different elements thrown in all over the place to craft a track which harks back to the likes of The Cure. If you’ve ever wondered what post-punk sounds like then this is about as close as you’re going to get, it’s a sound which oozes with the smog of London yet somehow still manages to sound fresh and new, updated almost.
What you’ve got here is an EP which isn’t going to appeal to everyone, but to those that it does it’s going to mark a moment of sheer genius. The tracks aren’t the sort of thing you can whack into a genre, and this is what makes the EP so special. There’s influences everywhere, sounds which you think you recognise, moments which confuse you and catchy lines which you want to sing along to, all combined with music which is at times dark and foreboding whilst at others, light and sunny. I don’t know that I fully understand this EP, nor am I sure that it’s the sort of thing I’d listen to a lot, but I know that I’ll come back to it at some point, just to make sure I still appreciate how incredible music can sound when the musicians making it want to work on something unique.
To find out more about Trim The Barber, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
All We Can Be doesn’t really give a lot away about the style of the band as it opens, sounding like a combination of early punk and dark gothic influences, all pinned together with a strange sense of melody. The mix which opens the track soon begins to fade into a deeper track, the sound seeming to grow as it progresses and making you question exactly what you’re hearing. What’s most striking here is that the band aren’t following a convention, they’re not basing their music on any one genre, instead allowing it to build into its own unique sound and packing a punch as it goes. Deep, powerful and strangely addictive, there’s an almost hypnotic quality about things here, somehow managing to draw you into the dark melee of elements and making you want to know what’s coming next.
Now The Joke Is On You marks a significant change on the EP, this time launching into a sludgy riff fuelled track, once again harking to the origins of punk yet firmly stamping their own sound on it. Catchy whilst somehow still unconventional, this track is one which seems to be crafted for the live scene, packing enough punch to get the crowd involved yet enough catchiness to get everyone singing along after a couple of listens. For me, the most striking moment on this track was the mid-section featuring the guitar solo, not for the solo but for the mix which formed, the music changed into an atmospheric mix, grabbing your attention once again and renewing that question in your mind about how they’re going to follow it! The answer to the question is presented in Free Falling, another track which airs on the stranger side of things yet still somehow manages to work to continue the EP forwards. Basing the track around the vocals, there’s once again a sense of darkness flowing through this one, adopting a sound which nods towards their influences, yet still presents us with moments of questionable progression. Elements like a wood block are thrown in, bongos, dual vocal lines and string synth sound, they’re all here and somehow make this track work, yet quite honestly, it shouldn’t. Despite the strange combination, this is actually a seriously high point on the EP, and a track which I would highly advise you to check out.
Always Delayed closes the EP and once again, raises a question in my mind – where did this come from. Launching head first into a distorted yet melodic mix of guitars and rumbling bass, there’s once again different elements thrown in all over the place to craft a track which harks back to the likes of The Cure. If you’ve ever wondered what post-punk sounds like then this is about as close as you’re going to get, it’s a sound which oozes with the smog of London yet somehow still manages to sound fresh and new, updated almost.
What you’ve got here is an EP which isn’t going to appeal to everyone, but to those that it does it’s going to mark a moment of sheer genius. The tracks aren’t the sort of thing you can whack into a genre, and this is what makes the EP so special. There’s influences everywhere, sounds which you think you recognise, moments which confuse you and catchy lines which you want to sing along to, all combined with music which is at times dark and foreboding whilst at others, light and sunny. I don’t know that I fully understand this EP, nor am I sure that it’s the sort of thing I’d listen to a lot, but I know that I’ll come back to it at some point, just to make sure I still appreciate how incredible music can sound when the musicians making it want to work on something unique.
To find out more about Trim The Barber, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls