TRUPA TRUPA
“Headache” C60
(Blue Tapes)


 
So, I checked out Trupa Trupa’s Facebook page for some info on them and, scrolling down, realized I don’t speak Polish, though there was a snapshot of a write-up in some printed periodical or other where their name was at the top and the Engrish words “Grizzly Bear” stood out in the middle, clear as day. I then said to myself, “These guys could do a lot worse than sound like that.”

Trupa Trupa do not sound like that (like, like, at all), though there are plenty of buried keyboards and reverb drenched guitars and breathily cooed vocals to go around. There are a good many Beatle-esque themes (you can’t avoid it if you’re any good at pop music, right?) as well as some psychy Beach Bois harmonies, and, my favorite, moments including flirting with Syd Barrett’s quirky ghost(s), which, really, is easily just as good as being a li’l derivative of the GB. Honestly, most of these songs would do well on American college radio, the few unfitting ones being too dissonant/chanty for pop sensibilities, but still, pretty decent.

Both sentimental and heavy, somewhere betwixt the three popular flavors of grunge, classic rock, and emo, I bet that if I heard these guys in my teens, I’d have euphorically shat my pants. I hope you still shop at thrift stores.

and/or


- - Jacob An Kittenplan